Theatre Royal welcomes improv comedy

THE first clue as to what to expect came with my programme, a small note with the dreaded words "audience participation", it took all my courage not to stop right there.

I prayed the cast would not venture to the confines of the Grand Circle to come find me.

Some brave spectators and true game players on the front row however did take one for the team and the audience's rapturous laughter was testament to their sacrifice.

One thing was certain, the minute the half-willing guinea pigs jumped on stage only to become part of the action, with utterly hysterical and somewhat disastrous results, those of us who had carefully avoided reviews or skirted even the briefest of plot summaries realised One Man Two Guvnors was a different sort of play altogether.

The story is simple enough but with, as befits a respectable farce, based on an 18th century Italian comedy, a heavy dose of twists, turns, not to mention cases of mistaken identity.

As the play opens, we find ourselves at the engagement party of Pauline Clench and Alan Dangle in 1960s Brighton. The festivities are brought to an abrupt halt when news arrives that Pauline's late fiancé Roscoe Crabbe was not murdered as everyone was led to believe but is well and truly alive and in fact keen to proceed with the wedding.

The message is delivered by Francis Henshall, who was recently hired as minder to Roscoe Crabbe. But Roscoe is really Rachel, posing as her own dead brother – who was killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Francis soon spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a job with Stanley Stubbers who is in Brighton hiding from the police. To prevent discovery, he must keep his two guvnors apart.

Gavin Spokes steals the show - a cliche but one that could not better describe his performance as our resourceful yet easily confused and sidetracked hero Francis.

His powers of improvisation are boundless. Even in a pickle with a certain spectator who took audience participation a step too far by actually addressing him during the show, Gavin aka Francis merely went along with it relishing the opportunity to take the, by then mortified, audience member to task.

Whether haranguing the crowd, working them into the play - sometimes with difficulties - but always with riotous effect for the rest of the audience, he was a one-man show of his own on stage. Bouncing joke after joke off the audience, he was unstoppable and I cannot remember a time when I have laughed so hard at the theatre. I actually had to catch my breath several times.

Patrick Warner was also a comedic force to be reckoned with as the Boarding-school educated Stanley Stubbers on a somewhat questionable mission.

overall the cast were outstanding and anyone last night would have been hard pressed to find fault with any of them, especially Alfie, aka Michael Dylan.

One Man two Governors was exceptional, hysterical and completely unique.If you don't believe me, just see it for yourself. - Marion Sauvebois