Adaptor and Director: Oliver Stockley
Tethered Wit theatre company returns to St Paul’s Churchyard with their latest show Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves which they suggest may be the first stage adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse’s novel. Concluding a UK summer tour with this London run, Oliver Stockley’s production never fully sheds its book-based origins to become the light stage farce it aspires to be, but there is a clear affection for the material and characters that sustain the running time.
Learning that the engagement between good friend Gussie Fink-Nottle and former flame Madeline Bassett may be on the rocks and fearful that Madeline may transfer her affections back to him, Bertie Wooster sets out for her stately home with trusted valet Jeeves to make sure the proposed marriage takes place. But Bertie proves an unwelcome guest, especially when a beloved vase goes missing.
Using the rear steps of the church as the fixed playing space, Stockley has been faithful to Wodehouse’s story but the adaptation lacks bounce. It requires a great deal of expositions to explain who everyone is and then the numerous, sometimes rather arduous, subplots including an undercover friend posing as the cook, a possible curse on a cheaply acquired vase, a slight version of Hamlet written by Bertie and the various oddities of the household. It is a lot of information to balance and creates a very large role for the actor playing Bertie who has the lion’s share of the dialogue.
As director, Stockley has been inventive in casting just four actors representing nine different characters plus incidental musicians but hasn’t found all of the comic flourishes and farcical timing that could make this a snappier comedy. The various comings, goings and accidental encounters that make up this tale never quite spring to life as they should and instead Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves becomes a very talky play that loses a little of its suavity in the translation from page to stage. The audience is told three times in quick succession that Emerald Stoker is posing as the cook for example and in being over-attentive to the novel, the show loses opportunities to be theatrically innovative in the presentation of Wodehouse’s story and cast.
Joe Keenan has a huge role as Bertie, on stage for every scene and largely the vehicle through which the narrative structure is translated to the audience. This Bertie has more gumption than some adaptations and although Rory Dulku’s Jeeves is suitably serene, there is little chemistry in this partnership that helps the viewer to understand their bond or why Jeeves goes to extraordinary lengths to help his master. Alexandra Clare and Olivia Warren complete the cast with a range of exuberant country-based creations, recognisably eccentric creatures from Wodehouse’s world.
There are moments to enjoy here; the cast throws themselves into the slightly heightened style of it, the scene transitions are thoughtfully smooth, and it maintains a brisk running time of two hours plus interval, yet the whole thing could be jauntier. By more fully embracing its dramatic form, it could lean further into the farce it wants to be.
Runs until 1 September 2024
