Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities

It is a drama book. Clive Brill's production evoked a world long passed, in which hunting was identified not only as an enjoyable pastime, but a ritual that drew people of different classes and generations together. However such distinctions did not matter during the hunt: everyone worked together to pursue and hopefully catch the fox. The fact that this sport has now been largely banned rendered this production more poignant: a neo-conservative yearning for a prelapsarian world in which everyone knew their place yet appreciated the social value of the hunt, a brief moment of misrule in an otherwise rigidly stratified world. Brill's production ended with a climactic court-scene, with Jorrocks accused of initiating public disorder, as well as neglectting his social and familial duties. Initially it seemed as if he might be convicted, until Doleful intervened with a magnificent speech defending Jorrocks' way of life as fundamentally benevolent. Once he had concluded his performance, no jury would ever have convicted Jorrocks. The action bore a strong resemblance to Edwardian comic tales such as Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, as it created a world of good fellowship, with the sound of people regularly toasting one another in the background. Nash proved a willing listener to Doleful's tales, occasionally emitting a loud guffaw at some of the more outrageous incidents. Jorrocks' Jaunts reminded me of the kind of tales told by habitues at a local pub during long summer evenings; they might seem preposterous, but they inevitably have happy endings designed to elicit laughter from audiences.