Articles
Outspoken, infuriating and very funny, the Irish writer Oliver Goldmith both outraged and delighted 18th Century London’s literary scene. Today he is remembered almost solely for his boisterous comedy, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, which exploded onto the sedate London stage and changed the face of English Comedy forever.
Actor/writer/presenter Simon Butteriss discovers how Goldsmith’s writing was shaped and coloured by truly extraordinary events in his life and presents a sympathetic portrait of the man as well as a lively analysis of his work in a documentary that provides the perfect counterpart to Tony Britten’s new film of SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, but which equally stands on its own as a fascinating study of an 18th Century literary maverick.
A GOOSEBERRY FOOL is illustrated by clips from SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER and by Goldsmith himself, played by Simon, using material drawn from Goldsmith’s rarely read and startlingly opinionated journalism, as well as songs from the now forgotten opera of SHE STOOPS, in a formula similar to Tony and Simon’s critically acclaimed film about Grossmith, Gilbert and Sullivan, A SALARIED WIT.
The music is taken from a 19th Century opera of SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, which has not been heard since 1868.Filmed on location in Norfolk and the Middle Temple, London, where Goldsmith lived.
Oliver Goldsmith’s “She Stoops To Conquer” and the making of the documentary “A Gooseberry Fool: Oliver Goldsmith Stoops To Conquer” shown on Sky Arts channel 267.