Review: "One Man, Two Guvnors"

Date Written: 2/10/14

It’s 1963 and there’s a bloody revolution in the theatre. Between writer Richard Bean and the National Theatre Company, “One Man, Two Guvnors” feels like a mash up between witty Commedia dell'arte and a bad British pantomime, with slapstick moments and underhand jokes at British culture of the time the show may appeal to a certain type of audience, of which I am not am member. Based on Carlo Goldoni’s “A servant to two masters”, the show has taken all of the best elements from the original and tactfully turned them tacky.

With a complex plot adapted from the 1746 original Commedia Dell Arte “A Servant to Two Masters”, the play features Francis Henshall, the minder to Roscoe Crabb who is in fact dead. Roscoe, otherwise known as Rachel, has disguised herself as her brother who was killed by her lover Stanley Stubbers in order to con Roscoe’s ex-future father in law out of a small fortune. Henshall is driven by his intense hunger to take on a second job in the service of one Stanley Stubbers and, in the process, causes a whole host of misfortunes, hilarity, bad cover-ups and two near deaths.

Upon arriving at the theatre the atmosphere is immediately set by the fantastic skiffle bad, arguably one of the best parts of the production, whose frequent performances throughout the show eliminates the usual boredom of waiting around for set changes, of which there were many. The addition of the live band boosts the performance and gives the production an added edge.

The real saving grace of the production came from the star-studded cast of B List actors, mainly consisting of ex-EastEnders.  Lead man Gavin Spokes came across fantastically; his presentation of Francis Henshaw was both funny and endearing, his comedic timing was brilliantly honed and the perfectly choreographed fight with himself left the audience doubled over with laughter. His “motivation” for the second act, Dolly (played by Emma Barton), was an over the top, cocky and surprisingly effective caricature of the original Smereldina, complete with an obscenely large bosom. Barton played the role well despite corpsing onstage letting her down at a key comedic moment.

“One Man, Two Guvnors” balances on the thin line between theatrical genius and every theatre-goer’s nightmare. With sections made to seem ad libbed and spontaneous, the company manipulates the audience into feeling sorry for the actors though use of staged audience participation, which results in the total derailment of the play. Although it was totally believable at the time, hindsight is a wonderful thing and instead the lasting impression is that the charade added very little to the play. 

So - if you’re easily amused, a fan of “EastEnders”, or want to see a fantastic skiffle band, then this production certainly is for you. Fans of the original “A Servant to Two Masters”, however would do well to steer clear of this particular adaptation, which is continuing its tour around the UK until March 2015.