Review - Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense - The Little Theatre

Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense 

The Little Theatre

16th Jan 2023

I rounded 2022 off with the Panto at the Little Theatre in Gateshead, and I am launching 2023 with the Progressive Players' first show of the new year. It snowed on both days, which I'm sure is just a coincidence but it does have a rather satisfactory symmetry to it.

Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense by the Goodale Brothers is an adaption (obviously) of a tale by PG Wodehouse. In the programme the directors notes say the names Jeeves and Wooster are familiar to many of us...having seen a few contestants stumble on a Jeeves and Wooster question in TV quiz shows lately, I would venture to amend that to many of us "of a certain age"! I do remember Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, I also vaguely remember a series long before that when I was considerably younger. We do have the complete set of the novels in the library where I work (a former boss was an avid fan!) But I think the names are not so well known now as they once were. Not that that detracts at all from the show, you don't need to be familiar with the characters to appreciate the comedy. You do however, need to have a grasp of the social niceties of the 1920s upper classes, and the importance of a good butler and an excellent chef!  This is a play about one-upmanship - well, except for Bertie Wooster, for him it's more about maintaining his status quo! 

Bertie (Christopher Corbett) tells the tale of a bizarre series of events that befell him recently. The drama is re-enacted by himself , his butler Jeeves (Timothy Clark), and his aunt's Butler Seppings (Daniel Wilde). Bertie plays himself, and Jeeves and Seppings play all the other characters, (three of them female), and all of them on stage with each other at some point in the story... You can see the casting problem - and the results are hilarious! We have offstage conversations,  actors popping up in a new costume while their previous character hides under a bed...and finally, the piece de resistance, one actor wearing two costumes and talking to himself... Believe me, you have to see it to fully appreciate it! 

Photo credit: Jenny Race

The three members of the cast deliver their roles with great humour and skill, and considerable aplomb (it doesn't always quite go to plan - and there are many opportunities for recalcitrant props and scenery to misbehave, but it all adds to the fun, and you're never quite sure if the glitches aren't actually  deliberate!). There are stolen cow-creamers, secret engagements, newts, dubious notebooks and even more dubious wigs, not to mention the sideburns, misunderstandings and misconceptions galore! All of this, (and only two boring bits!) plus plenty of interaction with the audience make for an hilarious evening of perfect nonsense. 

This is light hearted fun and an absolutely spiffing start to the new year. It   plays until 21st January and you can buy tickets from the box office on or online at www.progressiveplayers.co.uk 

Denise Sparrowhawk