Nicholas Ashton’s profile

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Seen, or going to see

One Man, Two Guv’nors, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, June – July 2011
A Flea in Her Ear, The Old Vic, Old Vic, November 2010 – March 2011
King Lear, Donmar Warehouse, London and Donmar Warehouse, London, November 2010 – 5^th February 2011

Joined 6th January 2011.
Last logged in on 29th March 2013.

Last five observations

To production of One Man, Two Guv'nors, by Richard Bean, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, June - July 2011: “The National Theatre has just completed a short tour of this sparkling production by Nicholas Hytner before it opens in the West End. It is very easy to see why it has been extraordinarily successful, blending with seeming effortlessness knockabout comedy, retro chic and satirical observation. The play is culled from an inspired update on Commedia dell’ Arte in general, Goldoni’s A Servant of Two Masters in particular, taking in the great tradition of British farce on the way. The improbable plot revolves around the tubby form of its perpetually starving hero, Francis Henshall, (James Corden) as he vainly attempts to placate and keep apart two bosses, one a rude-boy spiv (actually a girl in drag played by Jemima Rooper), the other an upper class idiot moulded from an unholy mix of Hugh Grant and Prince William (Oliver Chris). Both are secret lovers and on the run in Brighton circa 1963, hotly pursued by a motley crew of characters, including a busty Lancastrian proto-feminist (Susie Toase), a biblious lawyer of questionable ethics (Martyn Ellis), a cockney hard man (Fred Ridgeway), his non-too-bright daughter (Claire Lams), a calypso loving ex-con (Trevor Laird) and a wannabe Shakespearean actor (Daniel Rigby). To say that the actors gleefully seize upon the comic possibilities of their roles would be a gross understatement. Subtlety is gloriously cast aside (in a joyous rampaging of a very witty script by Richard Bean), each milking every opportunity to outdo the other in reducing the audience to hysterics. The tempo escalates rapidly from a quick-fire establishing opening to a quite sublimely ridiculous crescendo, set in the restaurant of “a pub that does food”, at the end of Act 1. This is the highlight of the play, featuring outstanding turns by Tom Edden as a decrepit waiter and his venally camp maitre d’ (David Benson), supported by various “breaking the fourth wall” escapades. This could all have easily descended into crudity, but the sheer fleet virtuosity of all the actors keep a spinning edge for entire evening. At its centre, the performance of James Corden is nothing short of a tour de force. Not only is he utterly in command of his material and of the immensely athletic demands of his role, he manages to infuse his character with endearing pathos; the harlequin with a melancholy heart. The fact that he is an established TV star has undoubtedly had an effect on the audience demographic present,with a refreshingly large number of young people among it. I am sure that they will be keen to try out theatre again on the basis of this experience. Nicholas Ashton, 29/10/11 ”

Nicholas Ashton’s profile

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