Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival take us to 1960s Brighton for larger-than-life characters, classic comedy confusion and capers galore, in their high-octane, anarchic production of One Man, Two Guvnors. Richard Bean’s adaptation of the 1789 Italian play A Servant Of Two Masters was a hit when debuting at the National Theatre in 2011, with James Corden in a starring role.
Where the Italian original drew on the clowning tradition of commedia dell’arte, with its improvisational comedy and characters drawing on Pantaloon, Harlequin and Pierott, Bean turned to comedy traditions as British as the BBC. Simon West’s production pops as brightly as the fairground lights on Brighton Pier. Drawing heavily on UK sitcoms, the production is fun, anarchic and embraces eccentricity and absurdity as it races through the plot.
Bethan Maddocks plays Rachel Crabbe who – disguised as her brother Roscoe, a notoriously sadistic gangster – is trying to get some money so she can escape the country with her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Played with confidence and hilarity by Joshua Ogle, his velvety voice alone tickles for giggles.
Planning to get some money from Charlie The Duck (Toby Harris), who had agreed for his daughter Pauline to marry Roscoe as a business arrangement, Roscoe’s death has now allowed her to marry Alan Dangle – a neurotic, self-absorbed actor and son of Charlie’s accountant. With Roscoe apparently back, things are made ever more complicated by the involvement of out-of-work skiffle player, slacker and accidental idiot Francis Henshall.
Matthew Preece is the lynchpin of the ensemble in this role. Playing homage to James Corden, his effortless timing and beat-perfect delivery mask the stamina, concentration and sheer hard work required for the physical comedy and tightly-written gags. And Joan Hoctor’s Elsie, an octogenarian waitress, had the audiences’ jaws aching with laughter as she demonstrated great clowning and (surely) some bruising.
However, everyone in this hardworking ensemble bring us a cavalcade of comic characters inspired by British television comedy, ranging from Monty Python to The IT Crowd via Victoria Wood, Fawlty Towers and The Young Ones. This is a tight-knit ensemble piece; a plot with more twists and turns than your typical 1960s B-road, and one which promises surprises and a lot of laughter.
Everyman Theatre Company: One Man, Two Guvnors, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Thurs 4 July
On until Sat 13 July. Tickets: £25. Info: here
words DAVID BAXTER