One Man, Two Guvnors

Derived from an Italian play written in 1746, One Man, Two Guvnors moves the action to 1960s Brighton in the U K. In this version the dialogue and the action are so fast-paced that the audience can be left playing catch-up.

In Brighton we find a desperate character named Francis Henshall willing to do anything for a job. Henshall ends up serving two bosses neither of whom is aware of the other. This leads to mayhem, chaos, mistaken identities and general slapstick. Performed on a simple set, that is extremely malleable for scene changes, the action is fast, furious and at times totally ridiculous.

Playing the bellicose Henshall is the human whirlwind Barry McGinley, who blasts his way through the script, breaking the fourth wall, fighting with himself and a dustbin, and generally creating havoc. McGinley seems to have energy to burn and would probably have loved the play to have gone on for another two hours at least.

Henshall’s two guvnors are played by Mark Chivers (Charlie ‘The Duck’ Clench) and CJ Bowers (Stanley Stubbers). Chivers gives a sinister portrayal as an East End thug, while, in contrast, Bowers is a smooth, Rolls Royce performer as the upper-class Stubbers.

Thrown into the mix are good performances from Scarlett Terry as Pauline Clench and Heather Baker as Dolly. Both girls have ludicrous 1960s hairstyles and talk fast and hard but say little to nothing relevant, which is their position in life in the man’s world of the 60s.

Adding madness to insanity is Finn George-Newman as Alan Dangle whose character is incapable of saying anything without some mad gesture or physical contortion.

In the mistaken identity column we have Alicia Clark as Rachel Crabbe but for most of the play she is a man with a big mo. In the end she ends up in a gorgeous dress, minus the mo, hanging off the arm of the smooth Stubbers.

The most captivating visual scene in the play is when Stubbers jumps off Brighton pier into the sea. This is beautifully created by director Jason Klarwein and well acted by CJ Bowers. Really impressive stuff!

However, the most ridiculous character has to be Max Witsenhuysen as Alfie, an old waiter with a heart pace-maker. When the pace-maker goes off, so does Alfie, accelerating from snail’s pace to overdrive in seconds.

Credit must also go to Barry Cantelo in the sound box for selecting and re-creating the sounds of the early 60s that accompanied the smooth, efficient scene changes; music that many of the cast would have been unaware of due to their age.

All in all, a crazy show and one of the funniest and insane plays ever produced on the Rondo stage.

Ken Cotterill

Image: (l to r) CJ Bowers, Barry McGinley and Alicia Clark.