This week, Andrew Lloyd Webber has decided to go deep into his theatre archives and show one of his personal favourite shows By Jeeves,based on the books by PG Wodehouse.
This story is a play within a play, Bertram “Bertie” Wooster is preparing to entertain the audience with his banjo when it goes missing. Whilst his long-suffering butler Jeeves calls for a new one to arrive from Kent, he suggests to the young man to entertain the audience with a story that happened recently with a cast of colourful characters and so many names that even Bertie loses track.
This performance doesn’t feel like a conventional theatre piece, and instead feels more like a community performance you would see which gives the show a more personal feel. It feels more like a film rather than a piece of theatre as a result of this.
The set piece adds to this feeling throughout the entire show as it is improvised, especially shown as the actors need to make the best of what they’ve got. This is exemplified in the opening and intervals.
The best character is title character Jeeves – played by Martin Jarvis who steals almost every scene he’s in with simply with his straight face, steely manner and limited singing (more comparable to rapping).
The comedy in this show is simply some good old British comedy, however it won’t have you howling with laughter. I would say the second act is a lot funnier than the first half. The music, whilst not as recognisable or better compared to other Lloyd Webber shows, this show still has some standouts from the title track to “Lover’s Maze”.
I will warn you, this show is slightly more of a slower pace, which may bore you. It feels more like a play rather than a musical due to the limited number of songs, similarly to Kemp Powers’ “One Night in Miami”. Music is provided by some musicians in the upper stage who look like they’re improvising the music based on the situation.
Ultimately, I can see why Andrew Lloyd Webber is keen on this show, but honestly, I’m not as keen on this show compared to his other works. Whilst it has its old school British charm and pleasant music, it doesn’t stand out amongst Andrew’s other pieces. It was enjoyable, but not the best show I’ve seen.
By Stuart McComb
Feature image: TheaterMania