Review: CHARLEY’S AUNT, Watermill Theatre

How do you breathe new life into a 130-year-old farce without losing what made it a classic in the first place? Rob Madge’s adaptation of Brandon Thomas’s Charley’s Aunt, now playing at the picturesque Watermill Theatre in Berkshire, answers that question with wit, warmth and a contemporary sensibility that feels both bold and necessary (and fun).

Under Sophie Drake’s glittering direction, the production pulls off something I wasn’t sure it could: it seamlessly weaves Victorian propriety with thoroughly modern language, complete with well-placed swearing, vaping references and contemporary dating culture. The collision of old and new might feel jarring for the first few scenes as your brain scrambles to calibrate what kind of evening this is going to be, but once Richard Earl’s magnificently pompous Spettigue enters, the logic clicks into place. From that moment, the production finds its rhythm and never falters for a second.

And what a rhythm it is; at just two hours including the interval, the pacing felt just right. It helps that the performances are uniformly excellent. Jonathan Case is utterly winning as Charley Wykeham, delivering a performance so effortless he felt completely himself. His facial expressions and body language are such fun, and yet somehow very truthful too.

But the real genius of Madge’s adaptation lies in their reimagining of Babs. Where the original play uses cross-dressing as the source of comedy, here the character becomes something far richer. Max Gill gives a heartfelt, genuine performance that transforms this well-loved character into a journey of self-discovery. The piano-playing scene is particularly entertaining, and Gill’s burst of dance at the end is pure joy. As Madge writes in their programme note, this isn’t about ‘a man dressing as a woman’ – it’s about someone discovering who they are beyond binaries. In 2025, that message lands with unexpected power.

The supporting cast matches this quality throughout. Earl is a particular standout as Spettigue, finding both the comedy and the menace in a character whose bigoted views feel uncomfortably familiar – like conversations you might overhear from that one relative at family gatherings. His climactic confrontation is brilliantly pitched and relatable in all the worst ways.

Maggie Service brings wonderful warmth and authority as the real Donna Lucia d’Alvadores; her arrival is one of the production’s most satisfying moments. Meanwhile, Benjamin Westbury is charming as Jack Chesney, while Yasemin Özdemir and Mae Munuo bring brevity and depths to Kitty and Amy. Lastly, Elijah Ferreira as Eli Delahay was pure sweetness, joy and comic timing.

Ben Jacobs’s lighting design deserves special mention – particularly in the moments highlighting Babs. And, on the Watermill’s notoriously dinky stage, Alex Berry’s set and costume design present a clever balance: period at first glance, but oh-so-contemporary on closer inspection. Babs' sequinned trousers and Charley’s frilly waistcoat, for instance, proved to be perfect visual metaphors for the production.

Finally, what elevates this beyond mere entertainment is how Madge’s adaptation makes Victorian social constraints speak to contemporary debates about identity, freedom and acceptance. The quartet of young lovers – Charley, Jack, Kitty and Amy – navigate courtship rules that feel absurdly restrictive, but the underlying questions about who we’re allowed to be and who society expects us to be remain irritatingly relevant.

If the production has a tiny flaw, it’s that their eventual support for Babs feels slightly overplayed, though perhaps that’s simply wishful thinking – we’d all like to believe allies are that easy to identify.

And with that in mind, this the kind of show you could take your sceptical relatives to, knowing they’ll enjoy the farce while perhaps, just perhaps, absorbing something more. At a time when trans rights are under sustained attack, Charley’s Aunt offers a two-hour reminder that joy, identity and self-expression are worth celebrating – and defending.

The Watermill has a gem on its hands.

Charley’s Aunt runs at the Watermill Theatre until 15 November