What’s the secret of comedy?
Timing.
Yes, but what else do you need for a play to be funny. A witty script – maybe with some running gags. Visual gags to complement the verbal ones; possibly a bit of intentional confusion caused by misunderstandings and/or mistaken identity – particularly when the audience are in on the joke and the characters aren’t; and slapstick, done well, will always amuse an audience.
Well, Thornden School’s production of “One Man, Two Guvnors” at Thornden Hall last Friday and Saturday certainly ticked all of the above boxes.
The plot centres on Francis Henshall (played by Maddie Matthews) who has jobs with two men and spends most of his time trying to make sure each employer doesn’t find out about the other. Any remaining time is spent looking for food. The twist at the end is that the two employers already know each other (I’m being careful not to give too many spoilers here), while a love interest provides further comedic options in the subplot. All in all, the play has the ingredients of a classic British farce.
It’s not an easy play to perform. The delivery of lines is fast-paced; the action requires split-second timing; some of the stunts need a near-acrobatic agility; and at times participation is elicited from unsuspecting members of the audience (or maybe the unsuspecting member of the audience have to hide the fact that they are “plants” – who knows?).
Despite these difficulties, the young cast gave sterling performances and brought out the best from both the script and the stage directions.
Can you get laughs from attempting to move a trunk? Yes you can.
How much confusion can be caused by sorting a few items of mail? Quite a lot (just eat the ones you can’t carry).
Is buying a knife from Woolworths funny? Four times yes.
Henshall spends a lot of time alone on the stage, delivering monologues and/or fourth-wall breaking chats with the audience (and one very clever dialogue and fight with … er … himself). The role was well played, with a character that filled the stage and had the audience in stitches with both verbal and physical comedy routines. His two employers – one local gangster and one gentleman criminal – were convincingly played and all the sub characters – such as the aged and infirm waiter, the ham actor Alan Dangle, and Pauline Clench who understood very little – contributed to the overall success of the production.
Of course, being at a school, you would expect some educational content. I spotted both literacy (alliteration around the letter D), and numeracy (the division of twelve chicken balls) – so OFSTED would be pleased. And there is no excuse for the audience not now knowing the difference between monozygotic and dizygotic twins – the culmination of the longest recurring gag in the play.
The stage was large and open, and some scene changes were complex and time-consuming. However, the entertainment continued as the technical crew accidentally-on-purpose tripped, fell into dustbins, and were hit by props being moved on and off stage.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my evening; a very funny play expertly executed. But I did make a mental note not to buy tickets in the front rows of a Thornden School performance – just in case …
Editor’s note: Once we receive stage images from Thorden School, we’ll add them to this post.
Related posts:
- Chippy Minton: Not Britain’s Got Talent
- Chippy Minton: Review: Thornden School: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Roger Clark: From Movies at the Hilt to Movies at the Hall
- Roger Clark: When a Curtain Closes Another One Opens
- Allison Symes: Shakespeare Inspirations – Hamlet at Thornden Hall
- Epicduda: A Batch of Cumbers: Review of Hamlet at Thornden Hall
- Allison Symes: Review: The Importance of Being Earnest at Thornden Hall
- Mike Sedgwick: That’s Entertainment – Parkewood School of Dance
- Allison Symes: High Jinks at the Hiltingbury Extravaganza 2015
- Janet Williams: The Hiltingbury Extrav 2015
- Chippy Minton: Thornden Hall: Alive With The Sound Of Music
- Chippy Minton: Theatre Review: Thornden School: The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾
- Janet Williams: 6 Things That Put Chandler’s Ford On The Map In 2014
- Mike Sedgwick: Chandler’s Ford Guide Book Entry
- Janet Williams: Frankenstein – National Theatre Live At Thornden Hall (Oct 2014)
- Thornden Hall: Thornden Hall Presents The Wind In The Willows (Jan 2014)
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Great review, Chippy. Sounded fun. Will make a note to look out for this should it be put on again.
It’s definitely a play I would recommend, and one I would like to see again. I will keep my eye on local theatres for other performances.
What’s the secret of a good review?
Information.
Enough to whet the appetite but insufficient to give away the plot.
Information that can be shared by all, not just the literati.
Nice review, I enjoyed reading it.
I enjoyed the show, but I struggled a little at the very beginning. The party scene was chaotic (I think it was meant to be chaotic) that it was quite unsettling. I couldn’t understand some of what the characters were trying to say as I found they spoke a bit too fast for me, and occasionally their voice was too soft for me to hear. But slowly the pace got faster and the complicated relationships amongst the characters were made more obvious and the play became more and more fascinating.
Congratulations to Mr Matt McGrath the director for this wonderful show. It was very brave to choose this entertaining yet challenging play for teenagers. I think they all lived up to the challenge and performed brilliantly.
I’ve only just seen these but all the comments are so lovely! We all enjoyed doing the show and I too agree that Maddie was fantastic!
Love from Rachel/Roscoe Crabbe
What a slick performance and many congratulations to all especially Maddie Matthews whose both concentration and self slapstick scenes were most impressive.
I wonder if Maddie had told her parents the role she auditioned for. Er, well, just eating ‘some dry stuff’ that human being don’t normally put into their mouth; a bit of ‘running around’ (precise acrobatic skills, running into a sofa chair, and, oh yes, slapping myself…). She successfully elicited the audience’s empathy towards her role. A fine, endearing actor / actress. Very well done indeed.
Reply to Janet, I can confirm that Maddie Matthews did not tell her parents the activities involved with her role in order to avoid revealing the gags and plot to us!
I’m her dad, and we hadn’t seen the play performed before. We were quite surprised with just how much she had to learn and rehearse to get the timings perfect and I think she did a superb job, considering this was her first leading role.
She’s now rehearsing for the the role of Cathy in ‘Singing In The Rain’ at Thornden in July. I’ve got my tickets booked already!!
Thanks David. Yes Maddie was superb in her role. She can act and sing (in addition to her acrobatic skills). This girl really had a strong stage presence and was very enjoyable to watch.
A few of us are already planning our trip to see Singing in the Rain.
We look forward to another treat.
Janet, thank you, that’s very kind. Maddie is aiming for some sort of drama/singing career, but she knows it’s all very competitive out there! See you at Singing In The Rain. And apparently there’s going to be real rain!
I’ve got my tickets booked too!
Just wondering how they are going to create the rain on stage. I’m ready for a surprise!
Thanks for your kind comments Eric, I’ll pass them on to Maddie.
I really liked the show and found it really funny. My favourite character was Alan Dangle, the actor. He is so over the top and comical and he steals every scene he’s in. His sidekick who repeats the sentences is also hilarious.
One Man Two Guvnors has a whole host of nominations in the Curtain Up South awards.
Click on this link to vote. Maddie Matthews who played the lead character Francis Henshall is nominated for best actress in a youth production. (Catagory 12)
Please vote for Maddie ! Please please
Hall of Fame
Thanks David for the information. Congratulations on being nominated. Let’s hope we hear more good news.
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this was Maddie in case anyone’s forgotten