CHARLES HUTCHINSON welcomes the arrival of a modern classic comedy that’s heading for York at last.

IT HAS been a long time coming, but the National Theatre’s tour of One Man, Two Guvnors will arrive in York on Tuesday as the 36th destination on a tour of 37 British and Irish cities that began last May.

Sheffield, Hull, Bradford and Leeds theatres all welcomed Hull playwright Richard Bean’s award-winning comedy last year but, be assured, the wait for the Grand Opera House run has been worth it.

Gavin Spokes reprises his West End lead role as loveable chancer Francis Henshall, joined by, among others, three familiar soap opera stars from EastEnders, Shaun Williamson as Charlie Clench, Jasmyn Banks as Pauline Clench and Emma Barton as Dolly.

Directed and choreographed for the tour by associate director Adam Penford, Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre production tells the rollercoaster story of Francis Henshall who, fired from his skiffle band, becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe.

Roscoe, however, is really Rachel (Alicia Davies), posing as her own dead brother, who has been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers (Patrick Warner). Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a job with Stubbers, but to prevent discovery, he must keep his two guvnors apart in Richard Bean’s very British adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s 18th-century Italian comedy, The Servant Of Two Masters.

Satire, slapstick, one-liners and pratfalls combine with the skiffle songs of Grant Olding, performed by The Craze, in Bean’s rapid-fire, physically frantic comic tour do force that looks exhausting to perform.

Gavin Spokes knew what lay in store when he took on the hugely energetic role of Francis Henshall, again, after his initial London run. “I have to train really hard for this show,” he says. “When you’re doing the performances, you keep your fitness up naturally but before that I was running and doing press-ups. Then, once you’re on stage, your fitness takes care of itself, and usually you lose a bit of weight too.”

Ironically, part of the joke is that Henshall is not exactly svelte, always being hot in pursuit of his next meal. “It’s a bit of an issue because you need your Francis Henshall to keep his weight up,” says director Adam Penford.

One Man, Two Guvnors is on its sixth or seventh cast, reckons Adam, and while there is a “kind of blueprint” that works for each production, a certain amount of leeway is given to ensure the show remains fresh, rather than being a carbon copy each time. “Otherwise it would be a conveyor belt and the audience can tell if that’s the case,” he says.

For Gavin, it is important to play his comic role straight, with pathos but not a knowing nod and a wink. “If you think you’re being funny, then you generally aren’t,” he says. “It looks funnier for me than it is. There are certain moments when you want the audience to really buy into it, and if you see the whites of their eyes, you just have to really twist it in.”

Not only is Gavin’s role physically demanding, it has an element of risk too, such is the nature of slapstick. “There’s enormous potential for the physical comedy to go wrong, particularly in the trunk-carrying scene,” he says.

“The last time, when I did the role in the West End, I damaged ligaments in my shoulder, so we’ve re-worked a fight scene where I fight myself. You set yourself certain standards doing Francis, and though I used to do that scene a certain way, Adam has re-directed it and it’s much better now.”

Gavin reckons no other role he has played can compare with Francis Henshall. “I’ve been lucky; people my size don’t generally get lead parts, and there is genuinely nothing better than this,” he says, having previously played Oliver Hardy in Laurel And Hardy at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury. “When it’s really flying, One Man, Two Guvnors is just the best show. It’s such fun.”

It continues to be fun as the tour heads to its finishing post. “From doing the show before, I know it’s not difficult to keep it fresh,” says Gavin. “It has a spontaneity greater than most other pieces; it’s beautifully written, and you can’t help but want to do it justice each show as you interact with the audience.”

 

Shaun has a funny turn

York Press:

A SOAP opera role has a habit of staying with you for life.

Consequently, any publicity surrounding new roles for Shaun Williamson, Jasmyn Banks and Emma Barton will mention their past in BBC1 grimfest EastEnders.

At the time of casting for the National Theatre’s 2014-2015 tour of Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors, Shaun had left his role as Barry Evans in the London soap ten years earlier, Jasmyn had last played Alice Branning six years earlier and Emma was taking up her first stage role since concluding her three years as Honey Mitchell.

Each has loved joining the merry throng in One Man, Two Guvnors. “One of the beauties of this show is that normally when you rehearse a comedy, the laughs stop, but we were still creased up with laughter because we love all the physical stuff,” says Shaun, above.

“I love playing Dolly because she’s such a feisty character,” says Emma. “At first you think she’s all air but she has real bite to her, and why I love this show is because it’s silly but it’s clever.”

Jasmyn praises Bean’s dialogue, which makes the play such a joy to perform. “It’s so brilliantly written that we as actors know what’s going to be funny,” she says.

She feels honoured to be part of the cast taking the National Theatre hit on the road. “We’re really lucky to be able to share such an amazing piece all around the UK, as not everyone can come to London, and knowing that this play works so well, it’s been wonderful to take it everywhere from Aberdeen to Dublin,” Jasmyn says.

 

• The National Theatre presents One Man, Two Guvnors at Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus Wednesday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york