The NT Live and NT Encore series are one of the first to provide alternative content to cinemas across different countries; here the content is from the National Theatre in London.
With cameras recording all the action, the cinema audience arguably has an even better view of the action on stage and is close enough to the actors to feel part of the action. The transmission starts off with a 3-piece band performing songs in the style of the time (a skiffle band), with them returning between scene changes, sometimes with an actor and even James Corden himself. Before the curtain lifts, during the intermission and after the curtain falls, the audience is treated to a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse of the production, a real added-value.
The stage play One Man, Two Guvnors is based on an old Italian drama that has been updated to the relatively contemporary Britain. The storyline is centred around one character, Francis Henshall, a lovable rogue who finds it almost impossible to hold down a job. He is short of cash and very hungry, and suddenly finds himself working for a new boss; amazingly,circumstances prevail that sees another character asking Francis to work for him too. He works for Roscoe Crabbe, a small-time London crook who travels to Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s father (himself a crook) in what can best be described as an arranged marriage. However, she wants to marry the man of her choice, an aspiring actor who is so over the top that it is hilarious. In part-farce, confusion sets in a Roscoe has actually been killed and his twin sister impersonates him to collect the money, and has no intention of marrying the girl. She has forgiven her boyfriend, Stanley Stubbs, for killing her brother, but Stanley stays at the Cricketers' Arms, a local pub that serves food as well as drink. Stanley becomes Francis' second employer. Chaos ensues as Francis does not want either of hie new employers to find out that he has two jobs and two guvnors; this culminates in an excellent scene in which he needs to serve dinner to both guvnors in private rooms when he is starved himself...
One Man, Two Guvnors is a hilarious stage play in which James Corden's comic genius shines very brightly indeed - a Tony Award-winning performance, in fact. Before he comes on stage for the first time, the scene is being set, but it lacks a spark; this, however, is turned upside down once Corden appears and he owns the stage from there on. Corden also encourages audience participation which adds to the production value with some impromptu performances that will not be forgotten for a long time.
The first act may arguably be better entertainment than the second, but it is towards the end of the latter in which things culminate and all the loose end are tied up. That was not the first NT Live production watched and certainly will not be the last. The next NT Live is The audience starring Helen Mirren, on 28 July 2016.
