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Jeeves & Wooster – Perfect Nonsense
Birmingham Rep
**** IT might not be 50 shades but there are certainly a couple of shades of The 39 Steps in this theatrical sortie into the outlandish, eccentric world of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. As in the four man adaptation of Buchan's spy novel, there is a large cast of colourful characters and, in this case, three actors to fill them with Robert Webb as Bertie Wooster, Jason Thorpe as Jeeves and Christopher Ryan as Bertie’s aunt’s butler Seppings. Jeeves and Seppings do the hard miles as the entire cast revolving around Wooster who has the relatively easy task of merely being narrator, raconteur and leading light, although his light does flicker a little as events seem to take on a life of their own whenever he appears, and he appears pretty well all the time with hardly a moment off stage for the superb Webb.. Jeeves and Seppings take on the roles of
themselves in between being antique shop owner, any other butlers required, the
remarkably tall, thug Roderick Spode; Gussie Fink-Nottle, Bertie’s
lifelong friend and newt fancier; Madeline Bassett, Gussie’s on off
fiancée; Sir Watkin Bassett, her father; Dahlia Travers, Bertie’s aunt;
and the long arm of the law, or in Sepping’s case, the relatively short arm
of the law in the shape of Constable Oates! Seppings also takes it upon himself to be in
charge of sound effects and special effects, but not perhaps in the way
we normally understand the word special. His gale and thunderstorm and
level crossing are particular highlights . . . excuse the feedback. Based on Wodehouse’s novel, The Code of the
Woosters, from 1938 adapted by the Goodale brothers, Robert
and David, we open with Bertie wanting to tell us about his latest
escapade, which is all a bit confusing, so he has decided to do it as a
sort of play. After all he has been to the theatre a couple of times and
seen the actor chaps, and how hard can it be? And off we go with Jeeves playing himself, and
anyone else not being played by Seppings in some convoluted tale about
Gussie’s engagement to Madeline and the disapproval of her father Sir
Watkin, a relationship even more strained by the fact they are all
played by Jeeves and hardly helped by the beer bottle bottom glasses
worn by Gussie making him almost blind. Seppings, as the shortest member of the trio by a
considerable margin, naturally has to play Spode, the tallest character, as well as
aunt, policeman and antique shop owner. They are working around some remarkably
imaginative scenery in Alice Power’s lovely period design and she also
affords us with possibly the world’s first pedal powered revolve. The lightning quick change of roles provides
ready made laughs but also requires some rapid costume changes which
must keep dresser Roberta McKeown on her toe. Director Sean Foley’s breakneck pace would be
lost by any delays or hitches and it might have looked frantic and
breathless, but behind the scenes was very slick and smooth. There are some clever comic touches, such as
Bertie and his duck in the bath, or the hit man on wheels, the wind up
pictures and even the scenery that moves when you lean on it – ah
memories of Crossroads. And then there is the lovely language and style
of Wodehouse with his wonderful turn of phrase, my favourite being one
taken from another novel - “She looked like something that might have
occurred to Ibsen in one of his less frivolous moments.” Perhaps you can see the Edinburgh Fringe origins
of the play in its madcap style and humour but that brings a
freshness to the production which makes it a comic delight from
beginning to end. The trio of actors display impeccable timing, some
lovely touches and produce a night of smiles and laughs – see, it wasn’t
hard at all Jeeves! In fact it was perfect nonsense. To 14-03-15. Roger Clarke
09-03-15 Tour dates:
Marlowe Theatre
Canterbury,
17 Mar - 21 Mar
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