Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, Duke of York's - theatre review

What ho Jeeves! Frivolous farce hits the mark with gusto in this smart and crafty adaptation of Wodehouse's most famous creation
In knots: Jeeves (Macfadyen), left, tends to Bertie (Mangan) ©Alastair Muir
Henry Hitchings22 May 2014

P G Wodehouse is the patron saint of suave silliness, and his most famous creations — idle toff Bertie Wooster and his gleamingly shrewd valet Jeeves — are the epitome of a very English kind of elegant buffoonery.

But despite their obvious theatrical appeal they have found their way on to the West End stage only in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical By Jeeves (originally just called Jeeves).

This adaptation by brothers Robert and David Goodale feels overdue. And it hits the mark.

Although the plot is thinner than an ant’s eyebrow, there’s plenty of clever and silly business, buoyed by the expert performances of Matthew Macfadyen and Stephen Mangan.

There aren’t many better comic actors than Mangan, and here he’s on stunning form as Bertie, a flawed raconteur who at moments of embarrassment hides behind the cheesiest of grins. He’s genial, toothy, sleek yet also ludicrous, and Mangan makes him seem a delicious mix of charm and panicked idiocy.

Stage charmers: the stars with their wives Louise Delamere and Keeley Hawes (Picture: Dan Wooller/Rex)

Meanwhile Macfadyen, so often cast as a laconic heartthrob, shows his versatility. He is excellent as the discreetly competent Jeeves — but also plays other characters (some of them female) with an absurd, even manic gusto. And Mark Hadfield, though very much the junior partner in what’s been billed as a two-hander, steals several scenes.

Director Sean Foley is adept at farce, and Alice Power’s designs are ingenious. At times the production feels like a glitzy star vehicle, perhaps a bit too pleased with itself. Yet mostly this is smart and crafty stuff. Nonsensical it certainly is. Perfect? That would be going too far, but this unapologetically frivolous show should entertain those who have never been exposed to Wodehouse, and devotees will lap it up.

Until March 8, 0844 871 3051, jeevesandwoosterplay.com

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in