By Jeeves!!!

I made it along to Roleystone for the final night of the season last Saturday. Foolishly, I had omitted to book and was most fortunate in securing literally the last seat in the house. I am very glad I did so. The story of the evolution of this show (book and lyrics by Alan Ayckbourn, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber) is set out in the program. Apparently, it very nearly did not see daylight at all and was a monumental flop on Broadway in 2001. Judging by this production, I find that hard to believe. The play itself is about the exploits of upper-class twit Bertie Wooster and chums, plus of course his valet and guardian angel, Jeeves - characters created by the late PG Wodehouse. The narrative is largely based on one particular novel, 'The Code of the Woosters' with a bit of poetic licence on the part of AA, and of course songs and dances thrown in for good measure. This show simply sparkled with humour, pace, energy and talent from beginning to end. The performers were all apparently multi-skilled and the music was played LIVE by (alas) a concealed trio of piano, keyboard and flute. The very quirkiness of set and props added yet another dimension to the hilarity of the piece. Well done, all. I perused my copy of the program closely for some clues as to where all these talented young performers had come from and where they may pop up next, but there were no biographic details provided whatsoever. For the benefit of those of us who like to keep track of such things, perhaps someone out there could oblige by adding some such details by way of comment hereon?