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Michael Giltz
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Corden One Man Two Guvnors , James Corden , James Corden One Man Two Guvnors ,
London Theater , London , London Theater Reviews , One Man Two Guvnors , One Man
Two Guvnors Review , Theater , Uk , West End Theater , Entertainment News
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Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: One Man, Two Guvnors : A
Crash Course in British Humor
If you're planning to visit London soon, after you've seen
Buckingham Palace and then tried to spot the royalnewlyweds returning gifts at Harrods, check out OneMan, Two Guvnors at the National. It's a crash course in
very British humor that will teach you as much about
post-war Britain as a hundred walking tours. You may
not be convulsed with laughter at every double entendreand every single bad pun, but the people around you willbe having such a grand time you'll be certain to enjoyyourself and learn something about the Brits at the sametime.
Carlo Goldoni 's durable comedy The Servant Of Two
Masters has been modernized and plopped down in
Brighton in 1963. Our hero -- James Corden of The History Boys -- is desperately hungry and decides to
work for two guvnors in the hopes of being paid quicker and finally, finally getting to have a proper meal.
Little does he know, those two masters are both in disguise and in love. One is a woman disguised as hergay, homicidal, criminal and deceased almost-twin brother. The other is her one true love, a silly toff whokilled said brother (quite by accident on purpose) and wonders if his sweetheart will ever forgive him.Toss in a man up to his ears in debt who promised to marry off his daughter to that bothersome andunreliably dead gangster, a would-be actor who yearns for the daughter almost as much as the sound of
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his own voice, a terribly ancient waiter and a buxomy accountant who likes a fellow with a bit of meat on
his bones and you've got the makings of low-down farce.
Nicholas Hytner directs a show adapted by Richard Bean that gets all the little things right (except for theposter, which does nothing to convey this comedy's silly, breezy nature). A skiffle band performs tunesbefore each act and during set changes, joined at times by actors from the cast who provide percussion byslapping on their bare chests, honk on car horns or whiz away on the xylophone. Yes, it's that kind ofshow, a revival of the music hall spirit where everyone has a go, the actors joke with the audience andeven drag one or two people up onstage for a bit of business. The set by Mark Thompson has just theright clever feel, giving the grand Lyttleton a more rinky-dink atmosphere. The songs, by Grant Olding,
fit in quite nicely, even as the band switches from skiffle to pure rock and roll and the cast joins in on the
finale.
What kept this from being delirious fun for me was a cast split about evenly down the middle between
those who are performing this silliness and those who feel it deep in their bones. Most of the women farepoorly. Suzie Toase is the lone exception as the saucy accountant who can deliver silliness about a worldwhere petrol stations have three times as many loos for women as for men and garner applause. JemimaRooper was less vivid as the cross-dressing Rachel Crabbe and Claire Lams made no impression as
Pauline, the girl in love with her hammy suitor. Fred Ridgeway does no better as Pauline's father and
Trevor Laird has so little to do other than move along the plot it wouldn't be right to say he succeeds orfails.
Don't despair: those actors don't drag the show down; they just don't lift it up to the comic heights
reached by the rest. Daniel Rigby is quite fun as Alan Dangle, the thespian who loves Pauline almost asmuch as he loves himself and wants everyone to know it. Tom Edden is a priceless addition as adoddering waiter, added to the famous set piece where our hero Francis Henshall tries to deliver meals toboth of his guvnors in separate rooms while nibbling away himself. Edden falls down the stairs so manytimes you're certain it will stop being funny. And yet it never does. But for me, the show's genuine find isOliver Chris as the silly blueblood Stanley Stubbers. Chris captures the tone of this sort of comedy with
ease, landing virtually every single line (whether it's a clever retort or just a "Hmm") with panache.
Front and center of it all is James Corden as Francis. He's working a little harder than Chris (who makes
it all seem so easy) but his warmth and easy rapport wins over the audience from the start. Pratfalls, lies,beating himself up (literally) and desire for food battling with desire for sex -- Corden does it all. Agrowing force in television -- where he's written numerous sketches and comedy bits, not to mention co-creating the sitcom Gavin & Stacey -- Corden has found the perfect role for his talents. And I should
point out that I'm almost entirely alone in finding even the slightest bit of fault with this show. TheBritish press raved over it and the audience I saw it with was convulsed with laughter from start tofinish. The show goes on tour after its limited engagement, but is certain to find a home in the West End
after that.
If you can't make it to London, you can check it out anyway by catching the live broadcast of a
performance of One Man, Two Guvnors in movie theaters across the U.S. on September 15 as part of the
NT Live season.
PHOTOS: Who Won Big At
This Year's 'Fashion Oscars'?
Engadget: WWDC 2011
liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS
5, OS X Lion, iCloud and
more!
Engadget: Live from
Microsoft's E3 2011 keynote!
The Center for Public
Integrity FACT WATCH: Sarah
Palin's Twist on Paul Revere
PHOTOS: 10 Best Mafia
Lessons For Success In
Business
Engadget: Live from
Nintendo's E3 2011 keynote!
Engadget: Engadget,
broadcasting live from
WWDC!
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Rhea Perlman
Saving Children From the Child
Welfare System
Steven Chu
A Safe, Secure Nuclear Future
More Celebrity News at People.com
Like 421
Like 13K
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Like 3K
LeAnn Rimes: I'm in the
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Kim K. Hopes to BePregnant 'by End of Year'
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Me,...
Naomie Harris: New
Bond Girl In 'Bond...
Eminem: 'A Kiss'Calls Lady Gaga
'Male...
Angelina Jolie's
'Salt' Getting SequelOne man, Two Guvnors out of Lyttleton Theatre at the National.
NOTE: Michael Giltz was provided with a free ticket to this show with the understanding that he would
be writing a review.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
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Around the Web:
One Man, Two Guvnors - Productions - National Theatre
Variety Reviews - One Man, Two Guvnors - Legit Reviews - - Review ...
One Man, Two Guvnors - review | Stage | The Guardian
One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre: Lyttelton, London ...
More in Entertainment...
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Abrams, Stephen
Spielberg Epic 'Super 8'
Early?! Here's How
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Aww! Daniel Radcliffe,
Emma Watson & Rupert
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azizansari
@azizansari : Nick Offerman wants
Oprah to play Ron's first ex-wife
Tammy. Spread the word!
http://huff.to/iXh6ut #OprahSwanson
stark
un nuevo estudio determina queMonsanto sabía desde 1980 que su
herbicida Roundup produce
defectos de nacimiento:
http://huff.to/llwsR3
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
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Science
2012
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We reveal how.
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PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY STYLE WORLD FOOD HEALTHY
LIVINGIMPACT MORE LOCAL
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer
GET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ
Read more
Corden One Man Two Guvnors , James Corden , James Corden One Man Two Guvnors ,
London Theater , London , London Theater Reviews , One Man Two Guvnors , One Man
Two Guvnors Review , Theater , Uk , West End Theater , Entertainment News
0
11
0
1React
Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: One Man, Two Guvnors : A
Crash Course in British Humor
If you're planning to visit London soon, after you've seen
Buckingham Palace and then tried to spot the royalnewlyweds returning gifts at Harrods, check out OneMan, Two Guvnors at the National. It's a crash course in
very British humor that will teach you as much about
post-war Britain as a hundred walking tours. You may
not be convulsed with laughter at every double entendreand every single bad pun, but the people around you willbe having such a grand time you'll be certain to enjoyyourself and learn something about the Brits at the sametime.
Carlo Goldoni 's durable comedy The Servant Of Two
Masters has been modernized and plopped down in
Brighton in 1963. Our hero -- James Corden of The History Boys -- is desperately hungry and decides to
work for two guvnors in the hopes of being paid quicker and finally, finally getting to have a proper meal.
Little does he know, those two masters are both in disguise and in love. One is a woman disguised as hergay, homicidal, criminal and deceased almost-twin brother. The other is her one true love, a silly toff whokilled said brother (quite by accident on purpose) and wonders if his sweetheart will ever forgive him.Toss in a man up to his ears in debt who promised to marry off his daughter to that bothersome andunreliably dead gangster, a would-be actor who yearns for the daughter almost as much as the sound of
MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
New Photos Emerge In
Anthony Weiner Twitter
Scandal
Anthony Weiner Admits
Sending Racy Pictures,
Refuses To Resign FOLLOW US
PHOTOS: Who Won
Big At This Year's
'Fashion Oscars'?Michelle Obama
Wears Naeem Khan
To State Dinner
Nancy Pelosi
Wears Vintage
Thierry Mugler To
7 Sites You Should
Be Wasting Time
On Right NowBIG NEWS: Movies Celebrity Body The Kardashians Katy Perry Microsoft More Log in | Sign Up
News Web
PHOTO: Pink Debuts Post-Baby Body
More In Entertainment: DiCaprio
Going Bad?... Fat Joe's Weight Loss...
Rooney Mara Goes Nude...
Zach Galifianakis Reveals Major
Details From Third 'Hangover' Film,
Disses Ke$ha
Like 39
Posted: 05/26/11 07:26 AM ET
SHARE THIS STORY
Send
Like
Submit this story
Get Entertainment Alerts
Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIES
Like 6K
Like 18KCONNECT
FRONT
PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY STYLE WORLD FOOD HEALTHY
LIVINGIMPACT MORE LOCAL
Like 316K
his own voice, a terribly ancient waiter and a buxomy accountant who likes a fellow with a bit of meat on
his bones and you've got the makings of low-down farce.
Nicholas Hytner directs a show adapted by Richard Bean that gets all the little things right (except for theposter, which does nothing to convey this comedy's silly, breezy nature). A skiffle band performs tunesbefore each act and during set changes, joined at times by actors from the cast who provide percussion byslapping on their bare chests, honk on car horns or whiz away on the xylophone. Yes, it's that kind ofshow, a revival of the music hall spirit where everyone has a go, the actors joke with the audience andeven drag one or two people up onstage for a bit of business. The set by Mark Thompson has just theright clever feel, giving the grand Lyttleton a more rinky-dink atmosphere. The songs, by Grant Olding,
fit in quite nicely, even as the band switches from skiffle to pure rock and roll and the cast joins in on the
finale.
What kept this from being delirious fun for me was a cast split about evenly down the middle between
those who are performing this silliness and those who feel it deep in their bones. Most of the women farepoorly. Suzie Toase is the lone exception as the saucy accountant who can deliver silliness about a worldwhere petrol stations have three times as many loos for women as for men and garner applause. JemimaRooper was less vivid as the cross-dressing Rachel Crabbe and Claire Lams made no impression as
Pauline, the girl in love with her hammy suitor. Fred Ridgeway does no better as Pauline's father and
Trevor Laird has so little to do other than move along the plot it wouldn't be right to say he succeeds orfails.
Don't despair: those actors don't drag the show down; they just don't lift it up to the comic heights
reached by the rest. Daniel Rigby is quite fun as Alan Dangle, the thespian who loves Pauline almost asmuch as he loves himself and wants everyone to know it. Tom Edden is a priceless addition as adoddering waiter, added to the famous set piece where our hero Francis Henshall tries to deliver meals toboth of his guvnors in separate rooms while nibbling away himself. Edden falls down the stairs so manytimes you're certain it will stop being funny. And yet it never does. But for me, the show's genuine find isOliver Chris as the silly blueblood Stanley Stubbers. Chris captures the tone of this sort of comedy with
ease, landing virtually every single line (whether it's a clever retort or just a "Hmm") with panache.
Front and center of it all is James Corden as Francis. He's working a little harder than Chris (who makes
it all seem so easy) but his warmth and easy rapport wins over the audience from the start. Pratfalls, lies,beating himself up (literally) and desire for food battling with desire for sex -- Corden does it all. Agrowing force in television -- where he's written numerous sketches and comedy bits, not to mention co-creating the sitcom Gavin & Stacey -- Corden has found the perfect role for his talents. And I should
point out that I'm almost entirely alone in finding even the slightest bit of fault with this show. TheBritish press raved over it and the audience I saw it with was convulsed with laughter from start tofinish. The show goes on tour after its limited engagement, but is certain to find a home in the West End
after that.
If you can't make it to London, you can check it out anyway by catching the live broadcast of a
performance of One Man, Two Guvnors in movie theaters across the U.S. on September 15 as part of the
NT Live season.
PHOTOS: Who Won Big At
This Year's 'Fashion Oscars'?
Engadget: WWDC 2011
liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS
5, OS X Lion, iCloud and
more!
Engadget: Live from
Microsoft's E3 2011 keynote!
The Center for Public
Integrity FACT WATCH: Sarah
Palin's Twist on Paul Revere
PHOTOS: 10 Best Mafia
Lessons For Success In
Business
Engadget: Live from
Nintendo's E3 2011 keynote!
Engadget: Engadget,
broadcasting live from
WWDC!
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Rhea Perlman
Saving Children From the Child
Welfare System
Steven Chu
A Safe, Secure Nuclear Future
More Celebrity News at People.com
Like 421
Like 13K
Like 475
Like 1K
Like 386
Like 478
Like 3K
LeAnn Rimes: I'm in the
Healthiest Place of My Life
READ MORE
Anne Hathaway GivesStuntman a Black Eye:Report
READ MORE
Rachael Ray 'Hasn't SleptWell in Years' - Thanks toHer Dog
READ MORE
Kim K. Hopes to BePregnant 'by End of Year'
Emma Watson:
Guys Are
Intimidated By
Me,...
Naomie Harris: New
Bond Girl In 'Bond...
Eminem: 'A Kiss'Calls Lady Gaga
'Male...
Angelina Jolie's
'Salt' Getting SequelOne man, Two Guvnors out of Lyttleton Theatre at the National.
NOTE: Michael Giltz was provided with a free ticket to this show with the understanding that he would
be writing a review.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
Buy a link here Sponsored Links
Mom is 48, Looks 32...
Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors. We reveal how.
www.IConsumerReports.com
BlackBerry® PlayBook™
Now Available. Introducing The First Professional-grade Tablet.
BlackBerry.com/PlayBook
New Policy in New York
Drivers with no DUIs in New York may be eligible for $9 per week car insurance.
www.LifestyleJournal.com
Part-Time Job $89/Hour:
No Experience Required. Just Home Internet Access!
www.WallStreetCareerJournal.com
Around the Web:
One Man, Two Guvnors - Productions - National Theatre
Variety Reviews - One Man, Two Guvnors - Legit Reviews - - Review ...
One Man, Two Guvnors - review | Stage | The Guardian
One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre: Lyttelton, London ...
More in Entertainment...
TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 10
Laurence Fishburne
Leaving CSI
Jennifer Connelly GivesWater Birth
Kim Kardashian's WeddingSlim Down
MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2
HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3
HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2
More Celebrity News at Popeater.comNicolas Cage's SonHospitalized After Fight
Will Justin and Mila's
Fauxmance Have Benefits
Jennifer Love Hewitt:
Worst Actress In
Hollywood?
Zach Galifianakis Reveals
Major Details From Third
'Hangover' Film, Hates
Fame
Want To See The JJ
Abrams, Stephen
Spielberg Epic 'Super 8'
Early?! Here's How
Like 116
Aww! Daniel Radcliffe,
Emma Watson & Rupert
Grint's First Ever Scene
Together
Like 229
azizansari
@azizansari : Nick Offerman wants
Oprah to play Ron's first ex-wife
Tammy. Spread the word!
http://huff.to/iXh6ut #OprahSwanson
stark
un nuevo estudio determina queMonsanto sabía desde 1980 que su
herbicida Roundup produce
defectos de nacimiento:
http://huff.to/llwsR3
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
The
Kardashians
Jennifer Love
Hewitt
Civil Rights
Movies
lgbt
Science
2012
Speculatron
Education
NFL Buy a link here Sponsored Links
Mom is 48, Looks 32...
Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors.
We reveal how.
www.IConsumerReports.com
BlackBerry® PlayBook™
Now Available. Introducing The First Professional-grade Tablet.
BlackBerry.com/PlayBook
New Policy in New York
Drivers with no DUIs in New York may be eligible for
$9 per week car insurance.
www.LifestyleJournal.com
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »
ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE
Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ
User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Contact Us
Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Part of HuffPost NewsFRONT
PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY STYLE WORLD FOOD HEALTHY
LIVINGIMPACT MORE LOCAL