Theatre South East

Last night I went to see One Man Two Guvnors at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley. If you have read my twitter feed you will know that I was extremely excited about this because when it was in the West End I nearly saw it on a couple of occasions but it always seemed to pass me by.

Reviews for have been outstanding and it is easy to see why. It is not a run of the mill straightforward comedy, neither is it quite a farce, it takes us back to comedy basics; laugh out loud stupidity. Described akin to an adult pantomime with all the slapstick, one-liners and innuendos, One Man Two Guvnors is very easy to watch and enjoy.

Produced by the National Theatre, One Man Two Guvnors is written by Richard Bean (Made in Dagenham, Great Britain) based on a 16^th Century book by Carlo Goldoni called The Servant of Two Masters. The story is about lovable rogue Francis Henshall Gavin Spokes (1984, She Stoops to Conquer) who, fired from his skiffle band, becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe. He then sees an opportunity to make more cash, mainly to support his eating habit so he takes on a second job, minding murderer Stanley Stubbers. To prevent discovery he must keep his two guvnors apart, sounds simple and a lot of fun.

But that is not all, things get complicated, subplots galore and a host of delicious characters. Jasmyn Banks (Eastenders) and Edward Hancock (Jeeves and Wooster) play a lovestruck couple all set to marry before Roscoe turns up. Roscoe, simultaneously is trying to fleece Jasmyn’s father Charlie Shawn Williamson (Eastenders, Extras) of money so that he can escape to Australia. The lovely yet feisty Dolly Emma Barton (Eastenders, Chicago) who lights up the stage whenever she comes on, and Michael Dylan (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) playing an elderly waiter damn nearly steals the show.

The audience are made to feel very much part of the production, the audience is talked to by the cast and there is a certain amount of improvisation, usually by Gavin Spokes. These parts were, by far, the funniest parts of the show.

I was delighted to hear 60s style music at the start, in the interval and during scene changes provided by a group called ‘The Craze’ led by Philip Murray Warson – this made it even more enjoyable. It was hard work pulling myself away for my interval glass of red.

I could go into much more detail about the show, but the production team have asked me not to reveal too much as it may spoil the fun for future audiences. Well, you need to see it for yourselves, but what I can tell you is that is lots of fun and we had a great night out.

 

 

Interview with Gavin Spokes from One Man Two Guvnors here

 

Official Website : One Man Two Guvnors

Hawth Website : The Hawth

 

 

 

 

 

Gavin Spokes and a previous cast but you’ll get the drift 🙂

 

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