Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Milton Keynes Theatre Review

Jeeves & Wooster
in Perfect Nonsense
Milton Keynes Theatre

7-11 April 2014

www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes

Reviewed by Hilary Whates

A new play by PG Wodehouse by The Goodale Brothers
Directed and Choreographed by Andrew Wright
Director Sean Foley

Mr T and I made our way to the theatre.
‘Where are we going this evening?’
‘Milton Keynes Theatre to see Perfect Nonsense’.
‘What’s the name of the play?’
‘That is the name of the play…’

The theatre at Milton Keynes is a bit of a stand out venue for me. Easy (and free) parking. Lots of good, reasonably priced places to grab a quick supper, and when you walk through the door it always feels like a special occasion. Our trip this time was no exception.

As a long-time fan of Jeeves and Wooster – both the printed word and in various guises on TV and film over the years – I was looking forward to an evening of silliness and giggles.

I hadn’t expected the ingenious staging, clever dialogue and amazing showcase of talent that this performance has in abundance.

Bertie Wooster (played superbly by Robert Webb) starts (and continues throughout) to tell us all a story about one of those complicated situations he is so famous for finding himself in – as always involving old friends and relatives – but instead of just recounting the story he has decided to re-enact it – with the help of his butler Jeeves and his Aunt’s man servant Seepings.

What follows is a very clever mix of set creation and extraordinary portrayals of an array of characters – hysterically delivered by the very talented Jason Thorpe who is Jeeves and so much more and the wonderful Christopher Ryan – a fantastic Seppings and brilliant Aunt. Look out for his many appearances involving a ladder too. I particularly enjoyed Jeeves (transformed with the aid of a curtain and lampstand) coyly flicking the fringe of the lampshade on his head – believable and very funny. The stand out moment though was when Jeeves very carefully puts together a bicycle, hitches it up to the stage and starts peddling – very unexpected!

As fans of Bertie Wooster will know his descriptive powers are immense and delightful – you actually can picture the scene – no matter how ridiculous – when you read the wonderful PG Woodhouse books (which I absolutely recommend that you do). Add to it this wonderful interpretation of that storytelling and you have a brilliant evening of fun and frivolity.

Like everyone else in the theatre we came away with a big smile on our faces.

‘Old Bunty Whistler would have loved that, what?’ said Mr T.
‘Who on earth is Bunty Whistler?’

Rating: 4/5

Tickets cost from £11.90 to £42.40 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is at the Milton Keynes Theatre until 11 April 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 8717652.

Milton Keynes Theatre, 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK9 3NZ