Under the direction of Indhu Rabasingham, Martin Crimp’s version of Moliere’s The Misanthrope places it in the lounge of a modern day up-market hotel suite. The small stage at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre can just about accommodate the minimalist but adequate set and the nine actors when all appear together for a few confrontational scenes.

For most of the time, however, only two are on stage at any one time and we are able to concentrate on the verbal slanging matches between antagonist and protagonist. The play is all about people’s attitudes and reactions to life and to each other, and whether it is really acceptable always to “tell it as it is” regardless of the feelings, sensitivities and sensibilities of the recipient.

Everyone is a hypocrite to some degree — holding back in company but letting rip behind their back. Except that is for Alceste (David Harewood) — the voice of righteous anger — whom, it seems, wants the world he so hates to stop so he can he can get off it. Or does he? Is it that he really wants the personal freedom, and right, to vent his strident views on to everyone else regardless of the consequences? This is all played out in the opening scene when Alceste and John (John Elmes) — the voice of reasonable compromise — engage in a fierce argument between conformity and non-conformity.

As further characters emerge each plays out their own version of the game. For example Covington (Nicholas Blair) is the stereotypical small, plump theatre critic with very wobbly jowls used to very humorous effect. He has written a play and sickeningly attempts to ingratiate himself with Alceste, playwright and actor, to seek his views. These are painfully, hurtfully outspoken and later we see Covington’s angry response to this come-uppence.

I never did work out the true relationship between Alceste and Jennifer (Eve Best), the young American actress, but the two of them were playing the same word game and life game to the extent that neither can trust or believe the other-s use of words meaningfully, or the innocence or otherwise of relationships with acquaintances.

Ellen (Fiona Bell) uses flattery, often couched in incomprehensibly trendy psycho babble, to get her story for her newspaper, and the resulting article brings all on stage for the final showdown and for each to voice with accusing finger their anger at the truths previously uttered and now recorded. Marcia (Andrea Hart) on the other hand schemes, like the wicked yet beguiling witch with subtle, underhand innuendo and twisted truth, to entice Alceste from Jennifer. And so it went on with Julian (Rohan Siva) and Alexandra (Miltos Yerolemou) adding there own two pennies worth.

As the play relies on the confrontational interplay of and reaction to words, concepts, ideas and lifestyles there is little need for acting as such but each give energetic audible performances, as befits those with disagreements, and the interaction was convincing.

Those who know The Misanthrope (originally written in 1666) will not recognise the names of the characters apart perhaps from Alceste. In this version by Martin Crimp, first performed in the Young Vic Theatre in 1996, these have been updated as has much of the script. Crimp admits to taking liberties with the text to make it “a recognisable portrait of the contemporary world”. For me at least, as for much on TV and in films these days, the use of the today’s language and idioms unfortunately includes a too liberal sprinkling of expletives of the Anglo-Saxon and Stateside kind. Personally I found this jarring but others would say it reflects life as it is. © AEB.

“The Misanthrope” is in Chichester from the 13th of February until the 9th of March, 2002.