For many years a book that sat close to my bedside was a Jeeves Omnibus by the masterful Pelham Grenville ‘Plum’ Wodehouse. I’ve always treasured the world of Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet; a quintessentially English place, chock full of indomitable Aunts and hopeless nephews always getting into scrapes, tales that are always happily resolved in time for tea and crumpets.
In 2013, brothers David and Robert Goodale took one of Wodehouse’s early stories ‘The Code of the Woosters’ (1938) and adapted it into this Olivier winning comedy for a West End audience, a show which the team at Wiltshire Creative have now co-produced with the Octagon in Bolton to excellent effect.
Anyone with a passing knowledge of the ‘Wodehousian’ milieu, will know that a large part of the beauty is derived from the first person delivery of the stories by Bertie Wooster. His unique style of storytelling is the driving force behind the series of plots and misunderstandings which push the envelope of absurdity, yet his humour has proved difficult to portray on either stage or screen with Ian Carmichael and Hugh Laurie being notable exceptions as the engagingly hapless Bertie. A part of the reason is Wodehouse is a deceptive writer, ostensibly his work is light as a feather but it’s chock full of classical allusion with frequent biblical, mythological and Shakespearean references; this evening alone we referenced Percy Shelley, a little known 12th Century French poet (Rudel) and constantly managed to misquote Macbeth to hilarious effect. This displays a confidence in the writing, a man who wears his learning lightly and has a deep understanding of the way farce can hold a mirror to current events, not always an easy thing to translate to a visual medium.
However, this production cleverly allows Wodehouse’s language to shine by breaking the fourth wall, with Bertie Wooster (Luke Barton) addressing the audience directly throughout, as he attempts to relate the story of an incident he recently was involved in at Totleigh Towers. His story develops into a ‘mise en abyme’ (play within a play), with Wooster calling on his valet Jeeves (Patrick Warner) and the household Butler, Seppings (Alistair Cope) to portray a variety of characters he encounters. The metadrama device employed is deceptively clever as it allows all forms of absurdist behaviour to be incorporated into the evening using minimal sets, props and cast. Director Marieke Audsley takes us from the initial premise of Barton as Wooster talking exclusively to the audience – commenting on shoddy scenery and his butler’s uncanny impersonations – into a wholly involved storyline then gradually back to our starting point, seamlessly and with great skill.
In addition to his portrayal of the buttoned up Jeeves, Warner gets to demonstrate his range as prissy Gussie Fink-Nottle and ‘Stiffy’ Bing (a female character despite the misleading nickname) to great pantomime effect. Similarly, Cope gives great value as a wide variety of characters, particularly Sir Roderick Spode – an ‘Oswald Mosely’ style proto fascist – who gets progressively taller as the evening progresses. Amidst all this ‘perfect nonsense’ Barton is the strong centre that holds the piece together, he displays an admirable baffled froideur throughout, especially during costume changes and exiting a bath whilst maintaining his modesty. The portrayal of Wooster was engaging and faithful to the spirit of the character, I can offer no greater compliment than to say his rendering was such an exact replica of the great Hugh Laurie – with constant wide eyes and wider mouth exclaiming loudly – that at times it felt like an episode of Blackadder the Third, itself a Wodehouse homage.
The versatility of the Octagon Theatre is employed very artfully these days, only two weeks ago this space was a wide open mirrored floor representing Red Hook, New York for Miller’s ‘A View From The Bridge’. Now Designer Olivia du Monceau nods firmly towards the Art Deco with a thrust stage centred around a gorgeous inlaid parquet octagonal surface, perhaps a tribute to the theatre in which the show is set. The ‘shamateur’ nature of the props employed feed well into the meta nature of the show and allow some really excellent sight gags to be played out, the car journey scene involving a level crossing being particularly well executed.
The plot is very dense, requiring frequent recaps – directly to the audience or in exposition – and in truth it is best to allow this evening’s convoluted entertainment to wash over you. For the record, the MacGuffin’s (to borrow a film term for theatrical use) in this case were a notebook, a cow creamer and a policeman’s helmet, around which was stitched a madcap farce which left the audience breathless and pleasantly flummoxed, one particular member will certainly not forget this evening in a hurry. What is missing in subtle nuance was balanced with a feeling of shared fun, the cast clearly had as much fun performing this excellent show as the audience did watching it. It sent me home to reread my Wodehouse in high spirits.
Verdict: A top notch spiffing show!!
Playing until 21st October.
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 6th October 2023
North West End UK Rating: