Katie Beswick (@ElfinKate) on the popular farce which recently graced the boards of the Leeds Grand.
I’d heard great things about One Man Two Guvnors – a farce concerning the antics of a hapless hero with two jobs. It opened to rave reviews at the National Theatre last year and was transferred to the Adelphi where Guardian critic Michael Billington reviewed the show, arguing that ‘you would had to have had a humour by-pass not to enjoy it’. One Man Two Guvnors is currently touring the UK, and played at the Leeds Grand Theatre from the 11th-15th of December where I was lucky enough to get what was clearly a hot ticket – the place was bursting at the seams with merrily expectant revellers.
The play is an adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s eighteenth century comedy The Servant of Two Masters. This updated version is set in the 1960s, and is centred on unlikely lad Francis Henshall, who – fired from his skiffle band and in need of a job – arrives in Brighton, takes on two protection contracts, and has to conceal this double employment from his bosses with comic results.
There’s plenty to admire about the production. It looks delicious; with its interior scenes coloured liked a paper bag filled with dusty jelly sweets straight from the jar – a kind of cartoonish realism pitched just right for farce. It totally captured the essence of Brighton too: the view of the sea, glimpsed over the promenade from a snicket between streets of huge white houses and proper old English pubs, prompted me to book a day trip to the seaside town as part of my Christmas trip down south. I also loved the catchy, upbeat musical interludes. And the writing; Richard Bean’s script zings with one liners that are frequently laugh out loud funny (‘love moves through marriage quicker than shit through a small dog’ was my personal fave). I was charmed by the acting too, imbued with the same kind of camp realism as the set, and mostly perfect comic timing – which left the ladies in the row in front of me literally crying with laughter.
Still, despite moments of brilliance, for me, the show didn’t quite live up to its shining reviews. Rufus Hound reprised the lead role, created by James Corden, and – whether it was Hound’s decision or directorial instruction I don’t know – the choice to have him play Francis Henshall in a breath for breath impersonation of Corden’s (widely praised) version of the part was a mistake as far as I’m concerned. Corden’s acting style is well known – the jocular nudge nudge physicality, the high pitched incredulity – it’s not always my thing, but it’s recognisable, and Hound’s version of the hapless Henshall had Corden written all over it.
To give him credit, it must be pretty difficult to maintain such an accurate impersonation for the best part of three hours, so it’s not that Hound lacks skill. It’s just that the experience of watching the character refracted through two performers was like watching a comic shaman channel spirits. It was rather unsettling (although, I suppose my hangover didn’t help).
In summary then: yes, the reviewers were right, it is a rip roaring, laugh in the aisles kind of night out – but this tour version is just a shade too jarring to meet the expectation created by the London show. Unless you like your comic 60s musicals accompanied by a bit of farcical shamanism – which, of course, you might.
One Man Two Guvnors played Leeds Grand from the 11th-15th of December; the UK tour continues through early 2013, before an international tour in the Spring. Details available at: http://onemantwoguvnors.com/on-tour/