REVIEW: Chris Abraham’s “One Man, Two Guvnors” at the Shaw Festival

By Kelly Monaghan, June 24, 2023

In 2012, One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean’s anarchic adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s 1746 play The Servant of Two Masters, was a British import, a huge hit on Broadway, took New York by storm and made James Corden an international star.

Now, with his incredibly funny revival at the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, director Chris Abraham has achieved the seemingly impossible: he has restored, and in some cases even surpassed, the magic of the play.

Photo: David CooperGoldoni encouraged producers to adapt his plays to local audiences, and Bean did so in spades, setting the action in the seedy neighborhood of Brighton, England, in 1963. Abraham followed Bean’s example with some interludes of his own, including a number of offensive references to Canada that drew roars of laughter from the local audience.

I have seen the Broadway original and would like to copy from my previous review in the interest of reuse:

One Man, Two Guvnors tells the twisted story of Francis Henshall, a simple and penniless young man whose world revolves around two goals: his next meal and his next sexual experience.

He finds himself in the tacky seaside resort of Brighton, working as a sort of butler and errand boy for a fugitive petty criminal who is about to enter into an arranged marriage with a fool madly in love with an aspiring actor. Almost by accident, Francis takes a second, similar job with a smooth, posh guy who has just arrived in town. Since Francis is only a few tenners shy of a shilling, he finds it impossible to juggle the two jobs.

That would be enough to cause a lot of comic confusion, but it turns out that the crook is not the crook but his twin sister in disguise, and the upper-class snob is the sister’s secret love and also the murderer of her brother. Got it?

Although he has provided ample opportunity for acrobatic madness, playwright Bean has not overlooked the power of the spoken word to bring an audience to roars of laughter. He is a master of the surreal simile (“She is pure, innocent, unsullied by education, like a new bucket”) and the obscene aphorism (“Love goes through a marriage faster than shit goes through a little dog”).

Director Abraham has also wisely resisted any temptation to reinvent the wheel. Why risk success? In fact, much of this production felt familiar, including the spot-on sets and costumes by Julie Fox.

As Francis, Peter Fernandes gets the lead role of his dreams and he makes the most of it. He confirmed my memory of Corden’s brilliant performance, joke for joke, slapstick for slapstick. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I turn on the TV and see him hosting The Late Late Show.

Photo: David CooperFernandes is first among equals in this company and there are many great performances. As Pauline Clench, Jade Repeta is the perfect dumb blonde and André Morin does a good job as her vain would-be actor love interest.

Martin Happer is wonderfully elegant and dapper as fugitive murderer Stanley Stubbers, who checks into the Cricketers Arms pub as Dustin Pubsign. And Tom Rooney, who was a delight in My Fair Lady, shines in the supporting role of crime boss Charlie Clench, employing an accent that would make even Enry Iggins grit his teeth in fear.

One of the great joys of One Man, Two Guvnors at the Shaw Festival is the role of Alfie, a character who does not appear in Goldoni’s original.

Alfie is a senile 80-year-old pacemaker-wearing waiter in the dining room of the Cricketers Arms. He is played brilliantly here by Matt Alfano. Alfano’s previous work has been in musical theatre, mainly in small roles and ensemble work at the Stratford Festival and elsewhere. In Alfie he has a spectacular role worthy of his considerable talent.

Photo: David CooperWhen he’s not tumbling down a flight of stairs, Alfano’s role sees him being knocked unconscious by opening doors, hurled against walls, hit in the face with a cricket bat, and transformed into a manic Flibbertigibbet when his pacemaker is set to 9. His performance is a tour de force of physical comedy and well worth the price of admission.

One of the most beautiful touches in One Man, Two Guvnors is the use of a skiffle band to provide entertainment before the curtain calls of the first and second acts and to accompany the scene changes. Skiffle was a short-lived style of music based on American influences that flourished in England in the 1950s before the Beatles changed everything around the time One Man, Two Guvnors is set.

I was very impressed by the band, especially when I realised that all of their members were also in the show. They included Jade Repeta as lead singer, and Martin Happer, Patrick Galligan, Graeme Somerville, Lawrence Libor and Matt Alfano as a drumming, tap-dancing Ringo Starr lookalike. How they managed to constantly change their costumes and be virtually unrecognisable in their skiffle roles is beyond me; I am speechless.

I saw the final preview of One Man, Two Guvnors at the Shaw Festival and the house was packed. Word has obviously spread and the show will rival My Fair Lady for the title of mega-hit of the 2024 Shaw season.

DETAILS DETAILS
One man, two bosses
Until 13 October
The Shaw Festival Theatre
10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0
Book online: https://www.shawfest.com/playbill/one-man-two-guvnors/#dates
Call the box office: 905-468-2172 / 1-800-511-7429

Kelly Monaghan lives alternately in Stratford and on the Connecticut coast. He writes about his love story with Canadian theatre on OntarioStage.com.