Review: John Gordon Sinclair & James Lance star in Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense

Duke Of York's Theatre

Reviewed on Tuesday 15th July 2014

★★★

Based on and adapted from the established literary works of P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is a new play by brothers Robert and David Goodale. Nine months into its West End run (which has been extended several times), John Gordon Sinclair and James Lance have taken over the lead roles. 

The play's co-writer Robert Goodale has also joined the cast as Seppings. Just weeks into the trio’s run their chemistry couldn't be stronger; anyone would think they have been working together for considerably longer. Sinclair, Lance and Goodale all bounce off each other’s energy superbly and have been perfectly cast in these hugely demanding roles. 

Fans of P.G. Wodehouse's work will find themselves in comical heaven. Perfect Nonsense is very silly with bucket loads of both physical and verbal humour. Sinclair and Goodale play countless roles and rarely leave the stage; I can only begin to imagine how exhausting the play is to perform and how manic backstage is. 

The story is as bizarre as one would expect. Several scenes do feel slightly dragged out, particularly towards the end of the first act; however, as the first half concluded one lady in the stalls seemed to find the show particularly amusing and proceeded to howl - much to the amusement of the rest of the theatre and, eventually, the cast who smartly worked in a few comical glances to see what was going on. 

What's so wonderful about a show such as Jeeves & Wooster is that every audience is so different and each night’s buzz and atmosphere completely changes the experience. 

Perfect Nonsense contains some very clever and witty moments. I chuckled throughout and found the second act considerably funnier than the first. The show’s not my cup of tea; occasionally I found the humour a little tiresome, but I can appreciate why others adore the piece. It seems Perfect Nonsense really does tickle certain people, if you are a big fan of P.G. Wodehouse you would be mad to miss this production. 

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is currently booking at the Duke of York's Theatre until Saturday 17th January 2015. Please visit www.jeevesandwoosterplay.com for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Uli Weber

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