Richard Bean's brilliant reworking of Goldoni's 1743 play Servant of Two Masters was a huge hit when it opened at the National Theatre 2011 and propelled James Cordon to superstar status on both sides of the Atlantic. He completely embodied the part of Francis Henshall and his performance was captured by NT Live and has just been rereleased to Cinemas. It is therefore very ambitious for the Ipswich Wolsey and NST to take on the production while the original is still so fresh in the mind. But if you have not seen the original this version is sure to make you laugh.
Bean has moved the action to 1963 Brighton and some shady characters caught up in the murder of unseen Roscoe Crabbe. Henshall in his desperation to earn enough to eat acquires two bosses, Roscoe's twin sister Rachel in disguise as her brother and her lover and the murderer of Roscoe, Stanley Stubbers. Not realising who they are the action centres around his desperate attempts to serve them both while keeping them apart so he can double his income. It creates plenty of opportunity for farcical interplay most of which recreates the original mayhem.
