****
Book by P.G. Wodehouse
Adapted by James & Edward Duke & Hugh Wooldridge
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| Sam Harrison |
In a spectacular evening of stagecraft, Jeeves Takes Charge is English drama at its finest. James & Edward Duke together with Hugh Wooldridge have carefully crafted their adaptation of P.G.Wodehouse’s original, fashioning a handful of absolutely spiffing yarns into two acts of glorious theatre.
Set on Caite Hevner’s ingeniously simple set and aided by equally ingenious projections, the story’s action ranges from London’s Mayfair to Gloucestershire to Brighton - with the show being made all the more remarkable by the fact that it is just one actor who delivers a tour-de-force delivery of all the parts. The two key roles are of course Bertie Wooster, a toff as wealthy as he is dim and his much put upon valet, Jeeves. Not just Jeeves and Wooster, there are approximately 20 other assorted roles (including Wooster’s would-be fiancée, a precocious young schoolgirl and her domineering headmistress) that are also performed by the same actor in an evening of vocal delight and sensational physical theatre. Wodehouse's creations are magnificent, the subtlety of his wit being delightfully retained in this cleverly adapted script.
Sam Harrison takes charge as Jeeves for the vast rump of the week’s performances, but on Thursdays (perchance, the day of this review) he is a replaced by the ridiculously talented Rupert Sadler as his alternate. Sadler barely pauses for breath as he seamlessly segues between roles, always hitting his mark, and breathing a life into Wodehouse’s words that has to be heard to be believed.
Jeeves Takes Charge is the simplest form of theatre possible. One actor performing on a simply structured stage - but at the Charing Cross Theatre it makes for exquisitely entertaining theatre. The sublimely talented Sadler spirits us away to the far gentler inter-war years, when toffish buffoonery was kept in check by the impeccably understated reserve of a first-class valet.
Magnificently entertaining drama, cleverly written and perfectly performed.
Runs until 6th September
Photo credit: Craig Fuller
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