James Corden wins raves for West End play transfer

THE COMEDY One Man, Two Guvnors, which won rave reviews at the National Theatre earlier this year, has transferred to London’s West End with ringing endorsements from at least two leading theatre critics - Michael Billington of The Guardian saying it’s now funnier than ever.

The play once again stars James Corden, co-creator of television’s Gavin & Stacey, whose performance as a bumbling jack-the-lad shuttling between two masters is deemed "brilliant”.

Written by Richard Bean and directed by Nicholas Hytner, the play is based on Carlo Goldoni's 18th-century Italian comedy, The Servant of Two Masters.

After its success at the National in the summer, and a recently completed UK tour, last night’s opening at the Adelphi Theatre had a lot to live up to. As The Guardian's theatre critic Michael Billington acknowledges, "transfers can be tricky". Yet it now seems, if anything, "even funnier than it did at the National".
 
There are several reasons for the improvement, says Billington. "The text has been shortened by 20 minutes, Nicholas Hytner's production adapts perfectly to the art deco space of the Adelphi and the evening generates the kind of uproarious laughter of which our theatre has lately been starved."
 
The Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer was equally effusive in a five-star review of the new production. He urges readers to ignore the recession and "scrape together the wherewithal to buy tickets for you and your loved ones to see the glorious One Man, Two Guvnors… it is absolute bliss".
 
Both critics agree that Corden is the show's shining light. Billington says he is "brilliant" as the hapless Francis, a failed skiffle musician who finds himself working for two small-time crooks in 1960s Brighton. Spencer says the scene in which Corden simultaneously serves dinner to his two bosses while keeping aside large quantities for himself is "one of the most hilarious I have ever seen in a theatre".
 
The good reviews follow the play’s success at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards on Sunday when it was joint winner of best play. Next year, it heads to Broadway with a new production, again starring Corden. ·