Ahilarious romp with a familiar fool

Play a brilliant vehicle to showcase the comedic chops of Stratford Festival's ensemble

- JOSHUA CHONG

Geraint Wyn Davies stars as Sir Harcourt Courtly in "London Assurance."

If the Victorian-era playwright Dion Boucicault had written “London Assurance” today, his hapless protagonist Sir Harcourt Courtly might have looked a bit like this: a self-obsessed, Kardashian-type fashion influencer. Likely on a fad diet that he’ll ditch by next weekend. Living in SoCal (a bougie part of it, that is). Oh, and probably sporting a couple of botched plastic surgeries to boot.

This is perhaps a crass stereotype. But by no means is it a crude analogy. For Boucicault’s central character, as campily portrayed by Geraint Wyn Davies, is the epitome of an 19th-century, over-the-hill fop.

From the moment of his first entrance, swaggering down the stairs in gaudy trappings and with rosy cheeks powdered like a clown’s, there’s no doubt that Harcourt is a caricature of a grand buffoon.

But what’s most striking about this archetypal character is its surprising contemporary relevance. Boucicault may have written his hilarious romp nearly two centuries ago, yet the bubbly fool at its centre still feels instantly recognizable — bearing an uncanny resemblance to our present-day “look-at-me” celebrities and the oversized personalities that populate our social media feeds.