Our Man in Havana – Malvern Theatres

Writer: Graham Greene

Adaptor: Clive Francis

Director: Philip Wilson

When Graham Greene visited Havana, it left a lasting effect on him, as did his time as a counter-intelligence officer for MI6. When he combined these experiences, it led him to write the espionage comedy Our Man in Havana. Set in Cuba during the pre-revolutionary years and inspired by real-world events like the Suez Crisis that exposed the ineptitude and gullibility of Cold War intelligence agencies, he walked the line between a story and a diary entry.

Originally published in 1958, the story centres on Jim Wormhold, a down-on-his-luck vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana with his daughter, Milly and trying desperately to provide a life for the two of them. When he meets the elusive Hawthorne, who offers him money to spy for the British Government, he uses his imagination to invent a network of spies and amass a wealth of information about military operations in the region. But it all begins to unravel as his network is put under the microscope, and the fantasy he created begins to cross over into the reality he lives in.

The scene is set with a Cuban facade designed by Julie Godfrey; the carved stone arches and wooden shutter-covered windows, combined with traditional music, transport us to the streets of Havana. The set, though simple, is adaptable enough to become multiple locations, changing in rapid succession, from a nightclub to a bar, someone’s living room and the first location we see: the vacuum cleaner shop of Jim Wormhold.

Played by Jack Ashton and credited as Voice 1, he gives a good performance of the charming, enthusiastic, but perhaps a little naive main character, and shows how the pressure of the work he is doing is taking its toll. Throughout the performance, he becomes more anxious and emotional, showing the strain his character is under as the story unfolds.

Alongside him is a tiny ensemble that works hard to complete the very difficult task of performing as multiple characters, often in quick succession, with merely a moment to change costumes and bring furniture and props onto the stage; they have their stronger moments, but unfortunately fall short at times. Bob Barrett, credited as Voice 2, is the standout of the ensemble, with his characters Dr Hasselbacher, Hawthorne and Carter, all distinctly different and recognisable with subtle voice and mannerism changes. Leon Ockenden and Jodie Steele, Voices 3 and 4 respectively, each have individual characters that achieve similar success with the police chief Captain Segura and the secretary Beatrice Severn, their notable personas.

However, many of the characters portrayed by the ensemble come across as nonsensical, farcical and just plain over the top; they are caricatures performed in this way to differentiate them from each other, but this comes across as jarring and irritating. They sap the play of the tension required in some scenes with exaggerated accents and mannerisms that feel awkward and create an atmosphere of discomfort amongst us in the audience.

The adaptation as a whole is misjudged, losing much of the feeling of the original text; it lacks excitement and tension because of character choices, length and pacing problems. The comedy is no longer sophisticated and unexpected, which relies on nuance and timing, but, especially in the latter half, becomes slapstick, pantomime with overenthusiastic puppetry. The play feels drawn-out and tiresome, with the entire story featured in detail, while many sections could have been trimmed down to increase the pace and perhaps reduce the need for the ensemble to make so many character changes, reducing the confusion for us in the audience further. Despite the length of the performance, it feels impossible to settle into the story when the use of the actors as a narrator takes us out of the moment, suddenly breaking the fourth wall, as well as their character, to talk to the us directly: one minute a character is asleep on the table and the next they are describing the transition to a new scene, quite irksome as it happens so frequently. The added context is sometimes important, but the choice of how to provide it is questionable.

Overall, the tiny cast has a mountain to climb, portraying so many characters and carrying a complicated story with so few voices. While their attempts are admirable, they are severely let down by an overly long script and unhelpful directorial choices. Fans of Graham Greene and the original story are, at least, able to follow the winding and weaving narrative with its multitude of characters, but it unfortunately does not hit the same heights as the original.

Runs until 29 August 2026 and on tour