Laughs came thick and fast in this superb version of a P G Wodehouse story.
On Wednesday 12th June the Grove Theatre put on a production of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense. Set over a weekend in a country house, brainless toff Bertie Wooster is in trouble again. His aunt wants him to steal a cow creamer, his host’s daughter wants him to steal the same cow creamer and his newt-fancying friend Gussie wants him to retrieve a notebook. If it all goes wrong, he’ll be forced to marry drippy Madeline Bassett. Meanwhile Roderick Spode, would-be fascist dictator, is threatening to beat Bertie to a jelly. Can Jeeves save the day?
This is a classic Wodehouse farce and the typical quick-fire word-playing dialogue guaranteed laughs. But this production was even funnier because it was done as if Bertie (brilliantly played by Mike Keegan) was telling the story to the audience (a nice meta-theatrical touch) assisted by Jeeves and Aunt Dahlia’s butler Seppings. Which meant that Jeeves and Seppings had to play all the other roles. This involved a lot of quick changes off stage and a variety of different voices and moments of hilarity such as when Seppings had to play Aunt Dahlia and a dummy representing Roderick Spode and when Jeeves had to wear two coats, one on each shoulder, turning the shoulders alternately to the audience as he carried on a conversation with himself. Given how much I was laughing it is only now that I can recognise the skill shown by Steve Scott and Mark Jefferies in their multiple roles.
Even the props were brilliantly deployed. For example, Bertie and Jeeves drive in a car represented by a cardboard front, using Jeeves’s hat as a steering wheel, while Seppings stops them using a (rather anachronistic) level crossing gate and then lashes them with a branch.
The lighting operated by Camber Sands was perfectly on cue and the music accurately evoked the period. My only concern was that the music was on one occasion a little too loud and almost - but not quite - drowned out dialogue spoken over it.
The audience was appreciative. They laughed throughout the production and applauded warmly at the end. Audience members that I spoke to said how much they enjoyed it.
It was a hugely entertaining evening, underlining the perfect in Perfect Nonsense.
A great night out, to repeated until Saturday 15th June
On Wednesday 12th June the Grove Theatre put on a production of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense. Set over a weekend in a country house, brainless toff Bertie Wooster is in trouble again. His aunt wants him to steal a cow creamer, his host’s daughter wants him to steal the same cow creamer and his newt-fancying friend Gussie wants him to retrieve a notebook. If it all goes wrong, he’ll be forced to marry drippy Madeline Bassett. Meanwhile Roderick Spode, would-be fascist dictator, is threatening to beat Bertie to a jelly. Can Jeeves save the day?
This is a classic Wodehouse farce and the typical quick-fire word-playing dialogue guaranteed laughs. But this production was even funnier because it was done as if Bertie (brilliantly played by Mike Keegan) was telling the story to the audience (a nice meta-theatrical touch) assisted by Jeeves and Aunt Dahlia’s butler Seppings. Which meant that Jeeves and Seppings had to play all the other roles. This involved a lot of quick changes off stage and a variety of different voices and moments of hilarity such as when Seppings had to play Aunt Dahlia and a dummy representing Roderick Spode and when Jeeves had to wear two coats, one on each shoulder, turning the shoulders alternately to the audience as he carried on a conversation with himself. Given how much I was laughing it is only now that I can recognise the skill shown by Steve Scott and Mark Jefferies in their multiple roles.
Even the props were brilliantly deployed. For example, Bertie and Jeeves drive in a car represented by a cardboard front, using Jeeves’s hat as a steering wheel, while Seppings stops them using a (rather anachronistic) level crossing gate and then lashes them with a branch.
The lighting operated by Camber Sands was perfectly on cue and the music accurately evoked the period. My only concern was that the music was on one occasion a little too loud and almost - but not quite - drowned out dialogue spoken over it.
The audience was appreciative. They laughed throughout the production and applauded warmly at the end. Audience members that I spoke to said how much they enjoyed it.
It was a hugely entertaining evening, underlining the perfect in Perfect Nonsense.
A great night out, to repeated until Saturday 15th June
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