Wodehouse in Wonderland – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

Writer: William Humble

Director: Robin Herford

Based on the life of P. G. Wodehouse, Wodehouse in Wonderland attempts to deliver a full and funny review of Wodehouse’s personal and professional life, but unfortunately falls flat in crucial places.

 The one-man show, fronted by Robert Daws as Wodehouse, is delivered through a series of monologues, some in the form of letters to his daughter Leonora, sometimes recounting tales to his biographer, and some in one-sided scenes. The chronicle is strung together with rambling exposition and interspersed with songs by Ivor Novello, Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern that Wodehouse wrote lyrics for, most of which are only loosely related to the plot, and often disrupt the rhythm of the dialogue. The text is also broken up by interruptions from offstage sources, such as Wodehouse’s wife, and his dogs, which are often heard offstage, and the telephone that the character seems to hate answering for sake of being distracted from his work.

Act One meanders through the more placid moments of Wodehouse’s life and writings, struggling to provide an adequate hook to captivate the audience and instead opting for dry wit over story and character development. Act II improves rapidly, addressing the darker events in Wodehouse’s history, including his internment during the Second World War and the loss of a family member, where both of which provide the alternative emotional setting that helps the audience connect with this otherwise remote character. Unfortunately this comes too late, with the majority of the play keeping any emotional development hidden behind humour.

The nature of the show allows Daws to excel as a character actor, switching between characters and accents with ease within each scene. He easily handles the humour and satirical banter that Wodehouse was known for, as well as delivering the emotion of the hardships he suffered with a dignified sincerity. It is Daws’ performance that commands the integrity of the show, ultimately spinning the individual threads of the plot into an archive of Wodehouse’s life.

Reviewed on 4 February and continues to tour