The False Servant at the Orange Tree Theatre review: Lively production rarely does justice to play’s nuances

Lizzy Watts as the Chevalier

(Picture: The Other Richard)

Gender, morality and finances all prove fluid in Marivaux’s intricately scathing 18^th century comedy. The story of a noblewoman who assumes male disguise to take control of her destiny and becomes an object of fascination to both men and women harks most obviously back to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Martin Crimp’s sly 2004 translation feels bang up to the minute today, though, not just for its attitude to gender. “Where’s morality?” asks Lizzy Watts as the unnamed heroine known only as the Chevalier, while all around her jockey for money or advantage. Well, quite. Plus ça change…