If ever there was a show which lived up to its name, this is it – a gentle entertainment of pure idiotic dottiness which conjures the privileged world of Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves.
With his gift for visual gags and physical comedy, director Sean Foley gets the tone just right and his cast could hardly be bettered. A straight-faced Matthew Macfadyen invests Jeeves with the perfect air of haughty, kept-in-check superiority as he not only guides his master through the country house proceedings and sets up the scenery, but also executes a host of quick changes into myopic, newt-loving Gussie Fink-Nottle and, donning a bonnet and skirt, fiancée Madeline Bassett.
With an endearingly goofy smile and skilful comic timing to match, Stephen Mangan holds the audience in the palm of his hand as the hopeless but rather loveable Bertie. And a versatile (if rather short) Mark Hadfield is kept busy playing just about everyone else including a tangerine-clad Aunt Dahlia, her doddery manservant Seppings – and even (with the help of an extremely long greatcoat) a seven foot tall fascist.
Until March 8, £20 – £58.50
Duke of York’s, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4BG. Nearest Tube: Charing Cross / Leicester Square
www.jeevesanwoosterplay.com
