Review - Come On, Jeeves - People's Theatre

Come on, Jeeves

The People's Theatre

22nd June 2023

I like to call this one Jeeves’s solo project! I thought it was called Jeeves and Wooster at first and Wooster is referenced in this play a few times so he didn’t die or anything! This production was directed by Matthew Hope with assistance from Xander Brouwer. 

Set in the 50s this quintessentially British farce, A P.G Wodehouse play, full of quaint performances and a brilliant if brief performance from Ellen played by Lauren Allison, the house cleaner seemingly calling on the spirit of Baldrick from blackadder, the crowd loved her. Sharpe eyed observers would notice she does a lot of stage setting in character in the break. 

All the rest of the cast do superbly posh sounding accents, a highlight for me being People’s theatre veteran Steve Robertson playing Jeeves of course, who else could? The set has been made up to look very comfortable and perfectly meeting the time period of the fifties.

So what of the story and plot, well we are at a fancy house, the only problem is it’s falling apart and suffering from damp, luckily some gullible american wants to look around and maybe take it off their hands for a nice sum. In the meantime the Earl of Towcester (Bill) played by Ryan Smith plays a somewhat worrisome character, whose buffoonery has got him in a bit of a betting fix, far from cashing in on turning the tables as a bookie he’s lost big time on a double long shot and now he must somehow hide this from his family. 

For a play over 70 years old it still feels amusing, even if the premise feels a bit silly and tame by today's standards. I judged it from the reaction of the audience as it’s a bit out of my usual tastes and they laughed quite a lot and in the right places. Some of the jokes were a bit corny, but still hit when they needed to and helped along by the actors' prompt delivery of lines. Overall an enjoyable watch. 

*Photography by Paul Hood

Frank C Murphy