‘CRIMINALS,
GANGSTERS, PRINCESS MARGARET’
In 2013, the National’s Olivier stage hosted Richard Bean’s One
Man, Two Guvnors. It became The Performance that catapulted James Corden’s
career and, of last Thursday, it became available for you to watch at home- on YouTube.
Hailed as one of the best shows ever staged by the National Theatre, it works
as a brilliant opener to the theatre’s efforts in solidarity from the arts.
Under Nicholas Hynter’s direction, the piece was an almighty
hit. The play works as an English adaptation of the old and beloved, Servant
of Two Masters- a piece of Italian commedia del’arte: one of the
earliest forms of what we know today as pantomime , it’s a piece complete with exaggerated
stock characters, gender swaps, mistaken identity and, of course, a love story.
One Man, Two Guvnors has all this in abundance, but with a lovable
British flair, making the well-known tale accessible to audiences up and down
the country.
Corden stars as our ‘harlequin’ Francis, who gets tangled in a
comedic web of lies and disguise. As the title suggests, he ends up being the one
minder for two masters. The two masters are of course linked, but all is to be
revealed- no spoilers here. He bursts onto the stage to deafening applause;
his entire performance proves well deserved of the accolades he received. He
argues a magnificent case for celebrity casting in theatre; the character of
Francis is like bringing his Smithy onto stage and letting him run riot on the
Olivier.
Set in 1960’s Brighton, the play humours the little drama of
British suburbia. The piece is decked with racial, national and regional stereotypes- as the stock characters
of commedia del’arte have been replaced with stock characters of little Britain:
the spiv, the boarding school toff etc.. The writing’s vigour and self-awareness
make it void of offence; it acknowledges the growing diversity of 60s Southern
England and we laugh in its comedic nostalgia.
Ignoring Corden’s stardom, the writing of this play sure
stands out as man of the match here. It is packed with punchy and hilarious one
liners. Whilst watching, I had to keep pausing (one of the beauties of at home streaming)
in order to scribble them down- they just kept coming! There’s a standout feminist
prediction, stellar with dramatic irony, from bookkeeper Dolly (Suzie Toase). She says, ‘I
predict in 20 years-time, they’ll be a woman in 10 Downing Street… and then you’ll
see exactly what woman can do’, to rapturous applause, then says, ‘you’ll see a more just
and fair society’, to rapturous laughter. Bean’s writing is at its best when it
is directed straight at the audience. Each character has a continual monologue:
a mocking of the Shakespearean soliloquy, and if there’s ever a stage to mock
Shakespeare, it is sure to be the Olivier...
Its self-referentiality heightens the boisterous nature of the
piece- it’s a play you won’t forget. It is sheer entertainment, and a treasure in
the National’s chest. It has everything for theatre lovers, and everything for
those new to plays. It has music, skits, audience participation (the
famous Christine Patterson bit) and chases from wing to wing… It might be titled One
Man, Two Guvnors, but it is not at all a one man show. It is a
production bursting with masterful actors, who are masterful comedians. Despite
streaming it at home, the show’s energy is palpable and you’re sure to laugh out
loud. With the closing musical number singing out: ‘tomorrow looks good from
here’, National Theatre Home has started a legacy- the perfect, and
somewhat patriotic, effort at stirring optimism in the nation.
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