One Man, Two Guvnors

Take a classic Comedia dell’Arte play, transport it to Brighton in 1963 – the time when the infamous Kray Twins were at their peak, throw in every piece of Music Hall/vaudeville shtick and every gag from the golden years of revue and variety, add a skiffle band and shake vigorously and you have what is billed as “The Funniest Show in the World?” Is it? Well, yes, if the opening night audience was anything to go by. There’s not one original line or piece of business in the show, but that just adds to the homage of the bye-gone variety days. And it is all superbly done; even the very obvious (to me) audience participation in the “slosh” slapstick with food routine had some audience members gasping as they doubled up with laughter, convinced it was real. Richard Bean has done his research and “borrowed” from everyone….including the amazing Freddie Frinton and his drunk waiter routine from the famous “Dinner for Five”; but as a playwright he has limited resources, including, it would seem, an inability to create a cohesive second act. (A problem with all his plays.) And the truth is that most of the audience aren’t old enough to remember the gags or routines, or the people who originated them but are not credited.

Owain Arthur is excellent as Francis Henshall, fired from a skiffle group and now working for two guvnors – one is Stanley Stubbers, an upper class twit who has killed his girlfriend’s gangster brother, Roscoe Crabbe. The other is dead Roscoe himself…or rather Stanley’s girlfriend Rachel disguised as her twin brother. Arthur pulls out all the stops in the physical comedy, but he lacks the adorable naïveté and teddy bear quality which made James Corden’s performance so endearing. Rosie Wyatt as Rachel/Roscoe and Edward Bennett (a delightful fop) are commanding presences who almost make the story comprehendible. Mark Jackson’s Alfie is hilarious…but far less credible than Tom Edden from the original cast. Jackson looks like a very young man in a lot of powdered make-up. Mark Thomson’s set works a treat, and special mention must go to Cal McCrystal for directing the physical comedy superbly. Nicholas Hynter handles his actors with deft skill and with a quite deliberate discarding of the fourth wall. Revue and Music Hall – and The Whitehall Farce days of Brian Rix  - were always played thus. The rest of the cast are good; The Craze are an excellent band and Grant Olding’s songs are catchy and pertinent, though sound and diction were lacking on opening night. All in all it’s a great fun night out, and more laughter than most of us have seen in a lifetime.

Coral Drouyn