The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! review – Flaubert farce flops

Pass the arsenic … Alistair Cope, Jennifer Kirby and Dennis Herdman in The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! Photograph: Steve Gregson

A gentle chuckle is never the aim of a great farce. But this rewriting of Flaubert’s 19th-century novel rarely induces a proper belly laugh. With the script bogged down in overly apologetic exposition, it’s never clear whether The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! is making fun of the book, revering it, or trying to find new meaning within it.

Not playful enough … The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! Photograph: Steve Gregson