“One Man Two Guvnors”
Nottingham New Theatre.

Is it really the last production of the season for NNT? Oh yes it is! Well if it's to be the last, then why not go our with a bang, which they certainly did.

Written by Richard Bean, this is the comedy that rocketed James Corden’s theatre career. Set In Brighton in 1963 it tells the story of an out of work skiffle player, Francis Henshall. He goes from being unemployed to having two jobs and two masters, Roscoe Crabbe and Stanley Stubbers. This is where the confusion and comedy arises as he tries to keep the two masters from meeting and discovering his joint employment.

Complicating events, Roscoe is really Rachel Crabbe in disguise, her twin brother Roscoe having been killed by her boyfriend, who is none other than Stanley.

Complicating events still further is local mobster Charlie the Duck, who has arranged his daughter Pauline's engagement to Roscoe despite her preference for over-the-top amateur actor Alan Dangle.

.A wonderful slice of slapstick and physical theatre which requires brilliant characterisation and comic timing.

James Curling(Francis) does a cracking job as our hero. Just one little picky bit for me was at times it was a bit shouty, but that's me comparing James' vision of Francis with the many others I've seen, but boy did James put everything he had into that role. Great energetic performance and brilliant fun.

Rachael Baines (Dolly) continues the talented actors in this play. the character is very confident and this comes across well, especially when she is breaking the fourth wall. The character is confident and so is the acting. A casting made in heaven.

Ted Marriott (Stanley Stubbers) ends a busy year with the best performance I've seen from him. The clipped rapid fire delivery, along with his wonderful facial expressions were a treat to watch

Gigi George (Rachel Crabbe) is wonderful as Rachel/Roscoe. I don't think I've seen Gigi acting before, and why i really don't know because she is very easy to watch. Some actors straight away make you feel very comfortable watching them and Gigi is one of those. A lovely fluidity in her acting.

Sam Morris (Alfie) had one of the hardest roles in this play as the octogenarian waiter. The characterisation was wonderful. I was just a tad disappointed that the cricket bat scene which knocked Alfie for six didn't have the same physical impact because it was not executed in the same way as I'd seen in the past, but that is a decision made by the director, but I think more laughs could have been extracted from the audience with the full swing of the cricket bat by Stubbers. (Hey everyone's a critic and wannabe director!)

Chris Sharp-Paul (Alan Dangle) is wonderfully over the top, just as the character should be, as the actor who is always in the spotlight. The semi tragic, almost Shakespearean Dangle is one of my favourite comedy characters, and every time I've been to see this play, the actor always delivers it just a little different every time. Some wonderfully pained but funny facial expressions which all adds to the comedy.

Andrew Houghton (Harry Dangle) is another great character performer as Alan's dad, and like Sam as Alfie, there's great physicality in this role.

Dom Bitten (Lloyd Boateng) makes his NNT debut in this play, and there were just very tiny things that gave this away. When you get to see as much theatre as I am lucky enough to see, you get to pick up on a few things with newcomers, This is not derogatory by the way because the absolute confidence that Dom shows is brilliant and he really looked as if he was having the best fun. I only noticed that a couple of times his part of the script faded a bit on volume right at the end of the speech. No one else would have noticed this believe me, but what a great debut and believe me this is me being really picky because there's a lot of naturalness with Dom.

Michaela Green (Pauline Clanch) portrays this slightly dim character perfectly and it's through that "naivety" that the natural comedy shines through.

Zack Collins (Charlie Clench), again an over the top character in Charlie Clench and very animated, and Zack actually made me believe that he was the right age for this part, or was it just the slight greying of the side burns that added to the realism of this part? Either way, another comic layer added.

Rohan Rakhit (Gareth) doubled up on parts and like every character in this play, added more of the comedy which this play is built on.

Co-directed by George Waring and Kate O'Gorman, this pair have really pulled off a magical production which has been a joy to see. the comedy is fast and punchy, the scene changing is snappy and incorporating the stage crew as part of the act works, exactly as it should, making the entertainment of the show fluent.

Producer Beth Mullen added so much to this production, which made it all work.A great self made set which was easily moved into place without being obtrusive.

The live band was different because in all other productions I've seen, and in the original, the band was a skiffle band. The band here were a Beatles tribute band in looks. They were made up of students who played a selection of 1960's well known tunes during the scene changes and at the start and end of the play,. Of course though they had to end with "Tomorrow Looks Good From Here".

The Nottingham New Theatre students have this year introduced me to so many little gems that I'd never heard of before this year,and I have a lot to thank this incredibly talented group of student actors for. Consistently good in their choices of theatre and output and it's been a pleasure to experience.

“One Man Two Guvnors” is on until Friday 15 December 2017