Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2014 January 03 • Friday

Here's something new for this blog: a theatre review.

We found ourselves in London last week on our first ever family vacation, which included Dexter's first trip on an airplane. (He was unfazed.) My favorite P. G. Wodehouse book, The Code of the Woosters, was being put on in the West End and I took a gamble on a ticket. I hadn't read any reviews so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The title put me off a bit. It struck me as unimaginative and generic, possibly signifying a desire to play it safe. None of this applied to the actual production, I'm happy to say. In a word, it was brilliant.

When writing, Wodehouse made it a point to put at least one big laugh on every page and the makers of this play appear to have had a similar goal, which they surpassed.

The concept is that Bertie Wooster's story of what happens to him one weekend, the story that becomes The Code of the Woosters, is so entertaining when he tells it that one of his friends persuades him to tell it on stage. And so he does, without giving a thought to sets, scenery, blocking or casting the other parts. Enter Jeeves, who has to be twice as miraculous as usual.

In addition to the wonders he performs in the story itself he creates everything needed for his employer's show, conjuring sets and costume changes as needed and playing several parts himself. (One high point is when Jeeves has to be Sir Watkyn Bassett and Stiffy Byng at the same time.)

Even Jeeves needs help, so a butler named Seppings takes over a few of the other parts. As played by Mark Hadfield the butler is an exhausted old man who can barely haul his wheezing frame across the stage. But when he transforms himself into the fascist Roderick Spode or the vigorous Aunt Dahlia he's a storm of energy.

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is very faithful to its source material. It takes liberties with the presentation, enlisting the audience as accomplices and presumes our appreciation of the original text. Bertie often addresses the audience directly and the standard announcement about turning off cell phones is made by Jeeves himself, who warns that Mr. Wooster is liable to be very distracted by such unexpected sounds. When one audience member sneezed it was perfectly natural that Bertie interpolated a "Bless you" into his line.

The perfectly crafted "improvised" approach to changes of character and scenery were responsible for much of the mirth and were faithful to the spirit of Wodehouse's writing. I can't remember when I've seen such an adroit, nimble, intelligent, exciting and satisfying theatrical production.

My only complaint is with the title. The Code of the Woosters should have been their battle cry.

I would have seen it again if I could have!