One Man Two Guvnors

I had not seen the acclaimed professional production of this play, but everyone I had spoken to who had seen it or indeed any production, said it was really hilarious, and so I hoped to have fun evening. I was not disappointed I have not laughed so much in a while; to the extent I had difficulty making notes. It originated in 1746 as The Servant of Two Masters, written by Italian playwright, Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni and adapted by Richard Bean and set in the 1960’s. It was full of farcical situations; slap stick, physical comedy and very witty, funny dialogue, with a very complex story line.

The set had been well designed to cope with the many and varied changes of venue, with some scenery permanently fixed, and panels able to be removed as necessary. All the sets had been carefully dressed and well lit, with good contrast between indoor and outdoor scenes and the time of day. Costumes, hairstyles and makeup were all appropriate to the period.

The evening started with entertainment from the ‘in house band’ as the audience were arriving. They were terrific, I was very surprised to find that they were not an established band, who played together regularly, their lead singer Jake Higgins was a member of the company, and so they had come together for the production. Musical Director Mark Aitchison, must have worked very hard with them and the rest of the cast, the music and singing were superb. I would have them to play at my party any time. The Band gave musical interludes to cover scene changes with members of the cast joining them, showing their versatility, you wondered who you would see doing what, next.

The main character, Francis Henshall, the man with two guvnors, played incredibly well by Paul Avery, is seldom off stage.   It is an extremely demanding, role, which requires difficult comic timing, a certain amount of athleticism and the ability to engage with the audience, persuading members to come on stage to help him.  From the reactions of the band, (uncontrollable laughter), he had some unexpected responses from the audience, which he handled well. His passion for food was obvious throughout, especially in the side-splitting scene where he is serving dinner to his two guvnors simultaneously. Henshall is the central character, but without the rest of the cast making the most of their characters and giving strong performances, he would not be able to pull it off. It gave everyone the opportunity to create larger than life characters, which they all embraced whole-heartedly. Charlotte Myerson, as Rachel Crabbe, who was impersonating her dead twin Roscoe, had mastered the masculine stance and mannerisms well. Michael Fry, as Stanley Stubbers, who is Rachel’s finance, and her brother’s killer, and who does not know she is impersonating her brother Roscoe, was excellent, as the ex-boarding school boy with no concept of ‘normal‘ life. Colin Bennett, as Charlie ‘The Duck’ Clench, as the name suggests a man not unfamiliar with the underworld, was good as the father of Pauline, who is engaged to the dead Roscoe, but loves aspiring actor Alan Dangle. I said the story line was complex. Joy-Amy Wigman played Charlie’s flirtatious secretary, Dolly, with obvious relish.

There are so many hilarious situations and running jokes it is difficult to pin point just one, but I must mention the ‘dinner’ scene which is set on the landing outside rooms 10 and 11, with Henshall serving his two guvnors who are in rooms at opposite ends of the landing. Everything is mayhem, with Henshall dashing backwards and forwards reallocating portions of food, mostly into his mouth; a young lady from the audience called upon to help; and the appearance of the unsavoury chef, played to perfection by Jason Blackburn. Last but not least deaf, doddery, octogenarian waiter Alfie, played so brilliantly by Oliver Ryder. It was pure slapstick of the highest standard from the unsteady hands with the soup plates, to falling downstairs repeatedly, to whirling round the floor when his pacemaker is set to the wrong speed, all incredibly well done and very funny.

This play is full of so many ridiculous situations that it could easily deteriorate into utter pandemonium, but Nick Tobias had skilfully disciplined and directed his cast so that much of it seemed spontaneous fun, but to achieve this everything had obviously been extremely well rehearsed. Congratulations to everyone on a highly entertaining evening.  I hope you have recovered from your bruises.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.