With disguise, deceit, slapstick comedy, and a hilarious plot based on Carlo Goldoni’s 1753 classic, the commedia dell’arte-inspired Servant of Two Masters, Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors is a delightful show full of rousing music and British wit.
Directed by David Mackay and set in 1963 in Brighton, a seaside vacation town in southern England, the show is a silly, entertaining, well-acted production that makes for a very enjoyable night at the theatre. Unless, of course, you’re “too old for silly,” as one of my fellow audience members remarked before leaving at intermission.
You have to accept going into this show that the whole point is for it to be full of corny jokes and contrived scenarios that allow for the plot to wind its circuitous, wacky route towards a tidy conclusion. In a style reminiscent of such British comedy greats as Benny Hill, and John Cleese in Fawlty Towers, Francis (Andrew McNee) plays the titular one man who tries desperately to serve two guvnors. He gave a stellar performance requiring a great deal of stamina and comedic endurance.
The two guvnors are Roscoe Crabbe, a local gangster who was assumed to be dead, and Stanley Stubbers (Martin Happer), the lover of Crabbe’s twin sister who is thought to have killed Crabbe. The twist is that Crabbe’s sister, Rachel (Celine Stubel), is actually on the run disguised as her brother and is meant to meet up with Stubbers in Brighton before they run away together. Another complication is that, through an arrangement with her father, Roscoe was meant to marry Pauline Clench (Lauren Bowler). Since Roscoe’s death, Pauline has been engaged to Alan Dangle (Ryan Biel), an amateur actor who hilariously overacts all of his lines.
The funniest scenes involve Francis bumbling around while trying to keep his lies straight and not let the guvnors know about each other. In particular, there is a restaurant scene where he serves dishes to the guvnors who are in separate rooms. They each come out requesting various food or drink, barely missing each other, and Francis is left to make sure he gets their orders right. If you’ve seen Fawlty Towers, the play reminds of the way Mr. Fawlty frantically tries to please all of his guests, often amassing a string of lies along the way.
There is also some audience involvement in this restaurant scene, as Francis enlisted the help of a young girl to hold his large soup urn full of stolen food and hide when the guvnors return. In the first act of the play, Francis hasn’t eaten in so long that he becomes obsessed with food. He ends up eating a letter, drinking old beer, and rummaging through a trashcan. In the second act, his obsession moves to Dolly, a secretary who plays hard to get.
Along with the brilliant comedy, this show also has great musical numbers performed by a skiffle band called The Craze. They entertained the audience with songs from the era before and after the show as well as during intermission, and they really set the mood with songs like “The Brighton Line” and “Lighten Up and Lay Low.” With obvious references to The Beatles, The Craze mentioned that they “would be number one if it wasn’t for those lads from Liverpool.” Their performances also involved some hilarious additions, such as Ryan Biel’s chest drumming and Andrew McNee’s xylophone solo.
This show is guaranteed to leave you laughing, and is especially recommended for fans of British comedy.
One Man, Two Guvnors is presented by the Arts Club Theatre Company from January 28 to February 22 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. For more information, visit artsclub.com.
Photo credit: Emily Cooper.
