sent from: London, UK. destination: Long Beach, California, USA

Tonight we went to see ‘One Man, Two Guv’nors‘, a play that has broken a lot of box office records, and received a lot of critical acclaim; I think in part because it bolsters the local industry and in particular the theatre that always seems on the verge of collapse, given the current crisis. With all those expectations, it couldn’t help but be something of a disappointment. The plot is simple – one man finds himself in the situation of working for two bosses, with ensuing farcical situations, misunderstandings, with a bit of mistaken identities and cross dressing, and contemporary talking to the audience and meta-commentary on the show by the actors, plus some ’60s nostalgia, and you’ve got a big crowd-pleaser. The first act in particular was very strong, with the cast performing a physical high-wire act of pratfalls and audience member participation that ended in a moment that felt as though you’d just witnessed an on-stage tumble of the performers to the floor; it wasn’t clear if we’d just seen something go wrong, or if it was all part of the show. I wont spoil the answer, but with that kind of tension built up, the more conventional second act couldn’t help but be a bit of a let down. Still I’m glad we saw it – like a lot of popular things, seeing it means that we can now take part in the conversation of “did you see? what did you think? do you remember when?“