Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, being very small and compact, allows one to feel part of any plot and this particular play, as the name suggests, is set in a very unusual coffee house in Venice, opposite a gambling den. On the dark glossy main floor are two round white tables and two white chairs. Towards the back are a couple of duck boards leading to two floor to ceiling see through banners through which we can glimpse further scenes and thus we have the setting for the story. The grey white walls, previously black, of the auditorium creates a restful colour uniting audience and actors.

The white chairs are cleverly used as props. Everyone carries in their own chair, placing them in different places at different angles, draping themselves over their chair in a suitable manner to convey their current state of mind and the mood they wish to portray.

It is 6 o’clock in the morning; Trappolo (Barry McCarthy), the round shouldered old waiter and regarded by all as a mere servant, is lethargically tramping around and preparing the coffee shop for the customers he knows won't be around at that time in the morning, but gets distracted by the game of cards being played in the gambling den opposite, discreetly hidden behind one of the see through banners. Behind the other banner we glimpse, Lisaura (Dido Miles), a scantily clad dancer prostitute, methodically and sensuously preparing herself for her lover, Count Leander (John Marquez), one of the gamblers who is fleecing Eugenio (Jamie Parker). Ridolfo (Stephen Ventura), the Coffee House owner and over prissily gay, minces in and out giving orders to and exchanging unpleasantries with the waiter when the first customer of the day arrives unexpectedly, Don Marzio (Paul Bentall) the local gossipmonger.

Don Marzio, in the manner of a very prickly gay and yet who himself lusts after Lisaura, jealously and enviously launches into a very loud and explicit description of the Count’s relationship with Lisaura, of his physical attributes, matching that of a stallion, and of Lisaura’s sensuous response to them. We also hear how he has helped finance Eugenio, a young gambler who also arrives in the Coffee House bemoaning the fact that he has just lost everything, with ten sequins in exchange for his wife’s precious earrings, valued at eleven sequins. Later, Trappolo is to be struck by Eugenio’s features, examining the photo of himself as a young man in the gold pocket watch he carries and remarks on its likeness to Eugenio. Moved by this reminder of his own youth, and of his financial success in America, Trappolo bails Eugenio out after extracting the promise of no more gambling.

In the meantime we meet Eugenio’s wife Vittoria (Liza Pulman), and Pandolfo (Vincent Brimble), the gambling house owner who is prepared to employ Eugenio in part satisfaction for his debts if he allows his wife to work there too. Eugenio, fearing the worst for the wife for whom he protests his love, refuses, and then returns to the gambling table using Trappolo’s money gift. At the end of Act I Placida (Norma Dumezweni), Count Leander’s wife, appears on the scene. She is searching for the errant husband she stills loves and yearns for his physical attributes. Eventually she encounters Lisaura and spills the beans. The three women decide to extract their revenge on their men folk. The short Act II is a meal in the Coffee House, much to the chagrin of the owner, where the women put their men on the spot. Placida is dressed as a man and then reveals herself to her shocked husband. It ends with Placida declaring her love for the Count emphasising that the value of love far outweighs desire for money.

The production is fast moving, beautifully acted by everyone and full of humour. Throughout the play the value of money is emphasised again and again in a novel way. The base currency used is sequins and each time the cost of something is mentioned, be it a cup of coffee, an item of jewellery, a debt, then it is immediately followed by the character quoting its equivalent in dollars, marks and L.s.d.

All characters are obsessed with money and sex and know the price of everything in a variety of currencies. It is not until the arrival of Placida that they are required to examine their actions and motives and look at the value of things and of their relationships.

The play was originally written by Carlo Goldoni in 1750. He wrote over 150 Venetian comedies. It was later translated into German and updated by the German playwright Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1969 and translated into English very successfully by Jeremy Sams in 2003. © JMB

“The Coffee House” is at Chichester from the 18th of July until the 24th of August, 2003.