Review: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS at Shaw Festival

Who doesn't love a good belly laugh, a groan and a perpetual smile on their face for 2-1/2 hours. That's exactly what you'll be in store for when attending the joyously silly production of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS  at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake.

The Brits are known for the love of a farce, and quite honestly, they always seem to to it best. While the genre has not been a staple with modern day authors, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS took the UK and American audiences by storm in 2011 and 2012, respectively. With it's basis in stock commedia dell'arte characters, James Corden  starred in the West End production and brought his side splitting portrayal to Broadway, winning him a TONY AWARD for Best Actor in a play.

Playwright  Richard Bean has fashioned a 1960's farce based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. Employing virtually every method of inciting laughter, Bean tells of  Francis Hendshall's attempt to be servant to two men at the same time, often while both masters are  in the same building or room. Mistaken identities, cross dressing, audience participation, pratfalls, alliterative tongue twisters, pies in the face.. well you get the picture. And what could be written off as low brow comedy, instead is a perfectly directed, rehearsed and performed raucous romp that runs as a well oiled machine. In lesser hands, the result would not be as perfect as it is at the Shaw.

When Pauline Clench's (Jade Repeta)  finacee is presumed dead, she chooses the fay actor Alan Dangle to be her husband. Her frustrated, dim witted father Charlie Clench, played by the charmingly blustery Tom Rooney, is not approving of her choice. Repeta plays Pauline as the ditzy blonde, who clearly is the daughter of her equally simple minded father. The two land every joke with comedic aplomb.

Andre Morin earns great laughs as the effete actor Alan, perpetually struggling to perform for anyone at any time.

The buoyant Peter Fernandes is simply marvelous as the servant Francis, a part sure to tax anyone, but so deliciously absurd, it is an actor's dream role. This man seems to have boundless energy that makes him instantly lovable. Fernandes brings the just right amount of dead pan delivery, tongue in cheek asides and physicality to the role. With a perpetual grin on his face, his quests for food and love are boundless and his timing is spot on.

His first master is the pompous and conceited  Stanley Stubbers, perfectly played by the dashing Martin Happer. As the second master, we get the cross dressing Fiona Byrne as Roscoe Crabbe, dressed as a man, but actually Rachel Crabbe, the twin sister to dead fiancee.

Kiera Sangster plays Dolly, bookkeeper and  Francis's love interest, with a sexy, yet no nonsense edginess that ensures she and women in general do not suffer fools. Festival favorite Patrick Galligan plays the  loquacious solicitor Harry Dangle, whose double talk is perplexingly perfect.

Songs by Grant Olding begin each act and serve as humorous asides during scene changes. Billed as skiffle ( a sort of pop music popular before the Beatles), these  wonderful shaggy musicians look like those familiar Beatles and Monkees. They are eager to please and also collect tips as they play guitars, banjos, improvised drums, harmonica and even belly tapping.

Director Chris Abraham has assembled an ensemble cast that is fully committed and involved at every moment. The first act is definitely stronger than the second, as the complicated exposition of the many characters gels. By the first act finale and we are left with a tour de force ensemble performance in the workings of a kitchen leading to two dining rooms (where each master is dining).  Francis's love for food makes for some fantastic, fast paced physical bits. The  precision  of the choreographed  comedic moves  can also be attributed to contributions by Fight  Director John Stead and Movement Director Alexis Milligan. Special nod and kudos to Matt Alfano as the geriatric, shuffling waiter Alfie. His agility and nimble portrayal results in some of the most flawlessly executed pratfalls you may ever seen on stage.

Set and Costume Designer Julie Fox has fashioned lovely period costumes and gliding set pieces that move the action along at a good clip. By the play's conclusion, everything is tidily wrapped up and the skiffle musicians join in for a gleeful finale. 

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS plays at the Festival Theatre of The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake through October 13, 2024. 

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