Review: JEEVES TAKES CHARGE, Charing Cross Theatre

First seen 45 years ago, the Olivier Award-winning Jeeves Takes Charge returns to London for a short season at the Charing Cross Theatre. This one-man show sees the affable and endlessly adaptable Sam Harrison take on all 22 roles in a highly energetic and adept performance.

The show is a stage adaptation, combining elements from several of PG Wodehouse’s stories. These include Jeeves Takes Charge where newly employed Jeeves saves Bertie from a disastrous engagement to the formidable Florence Craye, Jeeves and the Song of Songs where Bertie gives a memorable rendition of "Sonny Boy", Bertie Changes His Mind when Bertie gives a highly inappropriate speech to a girls' school and Right Ho, Jeeves, where newt-loving Gussie Fink Knottle becomes drunk on spiked orange juice to disastrous effect.

It is clearly a work of love for Wodehouse from director and co-adaptor Hugh Wooldridge, along with James and Edward Duke. Nostalgic and warm, the production takes us to a place where the travails of the modern world seem very far away; formidable aunts, ill-advised love matches and village concerts are the most testing things in this tribute to Wodehouse's work.

Sam Harrison returns to the production after an outing in 2024. As a one-man format, the success of the production is entirely in his hands. As Bertie, he has a camp vocal cadence of comedian Tom Allen, combined with the occasional Kenneth Williams-esque snark. Jeeves stands as though in the first position of ballet, with feet neatly splayed and arms curved. He adapts a deep, melifluous tone, which Harrison doesn't always maintain when Jeeves takes over the narration of the tale.

Other highlights are a delightfully tipsy Gussie Fink Knottle and imperious headmistress Miss Tomlinson. Harrison defines each character very well, with rapid adaptation of body language and vocal intonation. It's a captivating and very physical performance.

For all its engaging and thoughtful elements, this is, however, a production that outstays its welcome. One act would have been plenty to enjoy both Wodehouse's wonderful prose and Harrison's vibrant performance, but an interval and another act feel superfluous.

Caite Hevner's set gives us a high-ceilinged panelled room lined with picture frames, which cleverly changes with the setting. The content of the frames, the view through the doors at the back and the decoration of the walls all adapt to show us Bertie's apartment in Berkeley Mansions, a train and car journey, Easeby Hall and various other locations. Hevner's video design is also complemented by Tim Mitchell's thoughtful lighting.

Costumes are less successful. Harrison spends the first act in anonymous slim dark trousers and an open-necked white shirt which look distinctly modern, rather than using the sharp, structured silhouettes of the 1920s. It seems a wasted oppotunity to immerse the production in more period charm, especially as Bertie reapppears the second half with a lovely straw boater and striped blazer.

That said, this is a delightfully lighthearted and entertaining show. Something we need more of right now.

Jeeves Takes Charge is at the Charing Cross Theatre until 6 September before transferring to Mayflower Studios, Southampton from 29 September – 3 October, ahead of a UK tour in 2027

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