One Man Two Guvnors

Congleton Players have produced their first play of the season, ‘One Man Two Guvnors’ by Richard Bean.  ‘One Man Two Guvnors’, which was a huge success on both Broadway and London’s West End, tells the story of one man, Francis Henshall, who spends the course of the play, trying to adhere to his two governors.  Cue the farce and the melodrama.  This hilarious comedy is a fantastic showcase for the small cast of actors and tonight was no exception.

Set in 1963, this version was authentically set.  All of the costumes, props and wigs made the overall feel of the piece more authentic, allowing the audience to be captivated from the beginning.  Directed by Louise Colohan, this version was slick, well thought through and a great night at the theatre.

All actors were very well rehearsed.  I was impressed with characterisations and style.  I also loved the storytelling; allowing the clever script to shine through and be the star of the piece.  Louise’s vision for the purpose-built set was inspiring.  The use of the doors was great; especially the swinging door which was used to great effect during the waiter scene.  Producing and directing a farce can be very difficult and there is a fine line between being funny and being farcical.  It’s all down to the timing.  This production had great comic timing and more.  ‘One Man Two Guvnors’ is a fantastic and clever play with great characters.  It also has a very specific style with its asides to the audience, audience participation and a live band onstage, cleverly used to mask scene changes.  All scene changes were made by the cast and stage crew.  Apart from one change in the second act, they were very slick which helped keep up the overall pace.  Technically, there wasn’t much needed.  All lighting cues and sound cues were on time.  I liked the use of the blue hues during scene changes.  If I was to be very picky, the general articulation wasn’t great, with lines being devoiced at the end of sentences from certain characters.  I felt that some of the accents got in the way of dialogue too.  The live band were brilliant and were very enjoyable to watch and listen too.  I was particularly impressed with the female vocals from Sarah Francis.  Overall, this was another hit for Congleton Players, and it’s not hard to see why they did very well in the recent NODA District 8 awards!

Simeon Green played the role of the protagonist Francis.  Motivated by food and lust, Francis is the main focus for the majority of the show.  He is the character that the audience know and love and the one who has the most contact with the audience.  I felt that Simeon did very well in this role and was very well cast.  I have to admit that it took me a while to like Simeon’s version of Francis but by the end of the first act, he had won me over and I was fully on his side.  Simeon did very well with the ad-libbing and forcing the audience to join in.  His accent was excellent, and he told the story well.  I personally would’ve preferred Francis to be a little more likeable and looking at the audience for help during his dilemmas, but the audience loved him, nevertheless. 

Rosie Pearce played the role of Rachel/Roscoe.  Rosie did well in this role and was believable as the (non) identical twin, covering up some hidden secrets.  Rosie brought a good amount of masculinity to both the vocals and the physicality, which helped develop her character.  Rosie’s diction, articulation and projection were very good also.

The role of Charlie the Duck was played by Adrian Grace.  Adrian was very well cast in the role, very watchable and likeable.  I thought Adrian was one of the stronger actors and was vocally very good.  His accent was very strong, and he told the story very well.

Cherryll Topham played the role of the sassy, sexy Dolly.  Cheryll’s characteristics with her breasts was very funny and help establish her character early on which allowed the audience to love her from the start.  Cherryll is a great actress with excellent technical vocals.  She is a great storyteller and very watchable.  She had a great rapport with her fellow actors.

Simon Hoffman played the role of the camp lawyer Harry.  Although a smaller role, Simon did well to establish his character in the opening scene.  I felt that his character was overtly camp in an obvious way.  For me, it would’ve been funnier if the character ‘was’ camp, rather than ‘acted’ camp.

Daniel Wood played the role of Lloyd, the welsh friend of Charlie the Duck who has fond memories of Parkhurst!  I have seen Daniel before and he is a great character actor, however, I found his version of Lloyd very static and unlikeable.  I also lost lots of dialogue due to the accent and diction issues.

Rory Mason played the role of Stanley, one of the Governors.  I loved Rory’s version of this character, particularly his heightened R.P.  He used his voice and physicality very well to convey this character and brought a fab stage presence to every scene.  I felt that his character was very similar to that of Alan, but I loved him anyway!

Georgina Wynne played the role of the ditzy blonde, Pauline, very well.  I enjoyed the character traits that Georgina brought, and she was very believable.  Georgina was very well cast in this role and was very funny throughout.

Alan, the lovable actor, was brilliantly played by Marcus Wesley.  Marcus was brilliant as Alan and suitably funny throughout.  Marcus was also brilliant both vocally and physically, leaning in his actor stance throughout every scene!

Most of the other actors were very well rehearsed.  I enjoyed Alfie and his brilliant scene serving the soup was one of the highlights.  I felt that the character of Gareth was very much underplayed and lacked energy and projection.  At times I missed entire lines of dialogue.

It’s not hard to see why this play was a huge box office success.  It’s also not hard to see why Congleton players have won many NODA awards.  This play was yet another hit and an absolute joy to watch.  I thank them very much for their hospitality and wish them all the best for their 2019 season.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.