Reviews for The Admirable Crichton

The average rating for The Admirable Crichton based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-04-30 00:00:00 Layla Moye A recent discussion in one of my groups rekindled my interest in the several plays I studied in high school, all of which made enough of an impression on me that I haven't forgotten them to this day. This was one of those, written by the author of Peter Pan (which I've never read; but like virtually everyone else, I'm familiar enough with the pop culture figure!) --but this is a very different, and more adult, sort of play than the more famous one. Here, our setting is the real world: the staid and stately "civilized" world of Edwardian upper-crust London, and the rough, challenging natural world of an uncharted Pacific island. We might describe it as Downton Abbey meets Gilligan's Island; but though this is a comedy (and much of it actually is downright hilarious), it's much more realistic and serious in its ultimate intent than the latter, and its humor is a lot more mordant and caustic than anything offered on either of those shows. The above description is basically spoilerish; but it's hard to discuss or review this play without some spoilers. The England of 1902 was a profoundly class-conscious society, with a hereditary aristocracy and gentry who saw their traditional position of power and privilege as a natural order that rewarded their superior merit, supported and waited on by a lower class born into servitude and socialized to accept it. For over 100 years, this social order had been increasingly challenged, within and without, by a philosophy of egalitarianism, of social leveling and equality. Barrie sets the two mindsets in conscious opposition to each other --and finds both of them wanting. His message is, in part, that humans aren't equal in their abilities or moral qualities; that some people really ARE superior to their fellows, and naturally better fitted for leadership. BUT, this has nothing essentially to do with hereditary social position; natural aristocrats are such because of who they are as people, not because of what rank their parents happened to have. So, a butler may be an intelligent born leader with genuine character; a peer or a "gentleman" may be a worthless, self-serving lout. It's not necessarily insignificant that Barrie was Sir James Barrie, baronet (baronetcy being the only hereditary form of knighthood in England) --but the first baronet of his line, being the son of a humble weaver. Barrie delivers this message through an original, well-crafted plot with wonderfully drawn, compelling characters, realized with a very fine discernment of all types of human personalities and a bitingly satirical sense of humor. And like all writers of really great literature, he calls on his title character to make a serious and costly moral decision. Not long after reading this play, I was privileged to watch a well done performance of it on PBS. It's well worth seeing performed; and like most plays, it gains something from being experienced that way. But unlike most, it also loses something significant; where stage directions and setting notes are usually brief and strictly functional, there to guide the director and cast without being read by the audience, Barrie's are often long, extremely witty, and contain a good deal of worthwhile information that's not imparted in the actual performance. This can be said to be a play that's actually better appreciated by being read than being seen, if you have to choose!

Review # 2 was written on 2021-02-04 00:00:00 Jennifer Mcdaniel Feb 4, 840pm ~~ Review asap. Feb 5, 1140pm ~~ "You know, Vandersee, I have always looked upon you as a sort of Admirable Crichton among sailors." Sounded like an insult to me. But who or what is an Admirable Crichton? Color me clueless. So when I saw this remark in the book Gold Out of Celebes, I Googled the phrase to see what exactly our man had in mind when he said it. I discovered that Admirable Crichton was a play written by J. M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame. I wondered if Project Gutenberg might have the play at their website, and they did, so I read it and here we are. Now I can tell you that Crichton was the butler at the house of Lord Loam. Crichton was a most admirable butler. He was very proud of his career and his place in the world. He firmly believed in the separation of the classes, in not getting above his station in life, and all that sort of thing. But somewhere in his heart of hearts, did he feel superior to his superiors? Did he believe that he was the only one who knew how to do anything? The only one with practical knowledge and problem solving abilities? A dictator in disguise, perhaps? Well, yes, I think he did feel that way. Because when the family takes a trip by yacht and ends up shipwrecked, the Admirable Crichton is the one who takes charge. Naturally. He was a great one for Nature sorting things out. Which it did on the island. For two years! But what will happen when or if they are rescued? This was a hilarious play to read, and I think would be great fun to see performed. I found a movie version of it at YouTube and have added it to my Someday List of Things To Watch. (Come on, now. You didn't really think I only had a Someday List for books, did you? lol) I was a little disappointed in the ending, as many people seemed to be if I remember my Wiki information correctly. Even Barrie said that he had at first written the play with a different ending, but decided that Society wasn't ready for that scenario at the time. After all, back then everyone knew their place, right? Boy, am I ever glad those days are over. At least they should be, that is. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way, though does it.