One Man, Two Guvnors (RNT/West End)
Royal National Theatre
West End, Broadway, national and international tours
Much of what is funniest in One Man, Two Guvnors was created by Cal McCrystal, my associate director, who is a great master of physical comedy. Very impressively, during rehearsal, Cal – who can convulse an entire audience with a pratfall – rarely breaks into anything warmer than a wintry smile.
Nicholas Hytner (in the Financial Times)
The cast includes: David Benson, Oliver Chris, Polly Conway, James Corden, Jolyon Dixon, Tom Edden, Martyn Ellis, Derek Elroy, Trevor Laird, Paul Lancaster, Claire Lams, Fergus March, Gareth Mason, Fred Ridgeway, Daniel Rigby, Jemima Rooper, Clare Thomson.
Written by Richard Bean
Director – Nicholas Hytner
Physical Comedy Director – Cal McCrystal
Designed by Mark Thomson.
Music by Grant Olding
AWARDS
- Best Play Critics Circle Award
- Best Play Evening Standard
PRESS
'The improvisatory fun is combined with skilled physical comedy for which Cal McCrystal now gets due credit. ★★★★★'
Michael Billington, The Guardian
'Although Bean hits a rich seam of gags and innuendo that would make Sid James roar, he’s often (to my mind, at least) needlessly coarse. No, I reckon it’s the gloriously childish slapstick directed by Cal McCrystal that does the business. ★★★★★'
Daily Mail
'The joy of it — and I do mean joy — is its headlong commitment to comedy at every level. ★★★★'
The Times
'…brimming with comic inventiveness and impeccably conceived set pieces. The physical comedy has been brilliantly crafted by Cal McCrystal, and the result is a savoury hybrid of farce, cartoon and pantomime, with the occasional touch of understated pathos. One Man, Two Guvnors is a treasure illuminating the West End. ★★★★★'
Evening Standard
'In the 30 years since I started going to the theatre as a teenager, I think this is probably the single funniest production I have ever seen.'
Mark Lawson, BBC Front Row
'The NT has the feelgood hit of the summer on its hands. The play’s great set piece, in which he [Francis] simultaneously serves dinner to his two masters, is one of the most inspired scenes of farcical comedy I have ever witnessed. During this wonderful scene I found myself physically incapable with laughter. An evening of riotous delight.'
Daily Telegraph
'Aided by physical theater expert and associate director Cal McCrystal, director Nicholas Hytner expertly harnesses that comedy energy to build a tight, towering succession of character shtick, sight gags, slapstick and chase sequences unseen since '
Variety
'One Man, Two Guvnors, one massive hit. ★★★★★'
The Independent
'My sides were sore from laughing so much and I couldn’t write any more — and it was still the first act. Undoubtedly the funniest [show] to be seen in the land. Director Nick Hytner told me he wanted it full of the gags he enjoyed when he was a kid. With the help of Bean and associate director Cal McCrystal, they’re all there.'
Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail
'In this realm of brilliantly executed slapstick, with Cal McCrystal credited as associate director, Nicholas Hytner's production is terrifically bouncy and often howlingly funny. Its zany acrobatics gives the dust-encrusted genre of commedia dell'arte a vigorous new lease of life. Unforgettable'
Independent On Sunday
'Nicholas Hytner’s exuberant production has an outrageous physicality courtesy of associate director Cal McCrystal, with Tom Edden’s ancient waiter making me laugh so hard I nearly stopped breathing. Indeed, the whole show is the most hilarious comic evening in the theatre since Noises Off and could easily run as long. '
Sunday Express
'gigantic hit. ★★★★★'
The Observer
'McCrystal's role will come as no surprise to fans of comic theatre, who know him as Britain's funniest director. '
The Guardian
'The moments of slapstick are so perfect, they're choreographically beautiful as well as funny. ★★★★★'
The Sunday Times
'Undoubtedly be the funniest play this year and maybe for several more to come, with long periods during which the laughter is continuous. That is a testament to the skills of Richard Bean, who had a spell as a stand-up comedian and puts that experience to good use. He is ably assisted by Nicholas Hytner and physical comedy specialist Cal McCrystal plus the whole cast, who between them time every joke whether verbal or physical to perfection.'
British Theatre Guide
'Kudos to Cal McCrystal, director of physical comedy, and Tom Edden, who athletically plays a doddery old waiter — well, nothing else in any other show can touch it either. ★★★★★'
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
'Gloriously funny and a plum piece of seasonal entertainment. Bean’s dialogue glitters with one-liners and wordplay, while the physical comedy director Cal McCrystal provides some inspired slapstick sequences, climaxing in a virtuoso dinner scene in which Tom Edden excels as a doddery old waiter. ★★★★★'
Financial Times
'"It’s worth flagging up the work of slapstick supremo Cal McCrystal – this show’s success is as much his as Nick Hytner’s."'
The Telegraph
VIDEO
- Broadway.com trailer
- NT Trailer
YEAR
2011
