SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewOne Man, Two Guvnors
|
And the definition of mental illness, cymbals between the knees! — Francis Henshall
|
James Corden as Francis (Photo: Johan Persson) |
Much of the seemingly spontaneous and reactive humour has been scripted but this adds to the detail and the delight as we can never be quite sure what is audience participation and what is audience stooge. Nicholas Hytner directs this fast moving farce to perfection and gets perfect performances out of the cast. The sets are of the pantomime style with outdoor scenes with the front of the pub and cobbled streets and inside the Clench house we find the most glorious profusion of disharmonious 1950s patterns on wallpaper, curtains, sofa. Inside one of the pubs, The Cricketers, not the more interestingly named Dangleberry and Bush, are multiple doors and a staircase for the very doddery, elderly waiter to fall down with rib tickling regularity. In between scenes to allow set changes, there is more from the skiffle band often with a guest actor performing or all three girls singing Beverley Sisters style.
James Corden charming and chubby, chortles his way through this play and only the terminally bad tempered could fail to find him amusing. I haven't seen him onstage since The History Boys but he has plenty of television exposure. There is great physical comedy as well, most brilliantly when one servant has a punch up with the other, but both played by Corden as he knocks himself out. I find myself smiling just thinking about his heart warming performance. The other big find for me is blazer and flannelled Oliver Chris who, as the public school boy Stanley, delivers some of Mr Bean's best jokes about the legendary fagging at British public schools with a sexy predilection for sado-masochism, always executed with a wink. The highlight for many will be Tom Edden's waiter Alfie, staggering and falling when laden with trays of food and champagne. I also liked Daniel Rigby as Alan Dangle, self regarding, histrionic Errol Flynn type over-actor recycling quotes from plays and generally hamming it up with an exaggerated stance. Suzie Toase, pint sized except in the brassiere department, flirts with Francis with lots of quick witted repartee, all delivered with expressive eyes and busty bravado.
This is a gem of a comedy with Richard Bean's mischievous, spiky wit and I cannot think of a production which will bring the National Theatre more friends when it tours the country on what is bound to be a sell out tour. Will James Corden be available to take this star vehicle into the West End or even further afield?
|
Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe,
E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
| One Man, Two Guvnors
Written by Richard Bean Based on Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters Directed by Nicholas Hytner Starring: James Corden, Oliver Chris, Jemima Rooper, Fred Ridgeway, Daniel Rigby, Suzie Toase With: Trevor Laird, Claire Lams, Martyn Ellis, David Benson, Tom Edden, Polly Conway, Jolyon Dixon, Derek Elroy, Paul Lancaster, Fergus March, Gareth Mason, Clare Thomson Band The Craze Benjamin Brooker, Richard Coughlan, Philip James, Grant Olding Design: Mark Thompson Lighting: Mark Henderson Choreographer: Adam Penford Music : Grant Olding Fight Director : Kate Waters Sound: Paul Arditti Running time: Two hours 50 minutes including an interval Box Office: 020 7452 3000 Booking to 19th September 2011 but sold out. Queue for day tickets. Then on tour as follows: 27th - 31st September 2011 at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury 4th - 8th October 2011 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 11th - 15th October 2011 at The Lowry, Salford 18th - 22nd October 2011 at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham 25th - 29th October at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 31st May 2011 performance at the Lyttelton, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX (Rail/Tube: Waterloo) |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. |
