Plays

One Man, Two Guvnors

One Man, Two Guvnors

  • Downloads：1989
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-19 09:52:02
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Richard Bean
  • ISBN：1350265993
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Fired from his skiffle band， Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe， a small time East End hood， now in Brighton to collect £6，000 from his fiancee's dad。 But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother， who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers。 Holed up at The Cricketers' Arms， the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers， who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel。 To prevent discovery， Francis must keep his two guvnors apart。

Simple。

Based on Carlo Goldoni's classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters， in this new English version by prize winning playwright Richard Bean， sex， food and money are high on the agenda。

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Reviews

Steve ，

After doing The Servant of Two Masters （A THREE HOUR SHOW） written in 2009， this adaptation feels like a breeze and it's fun to see the same beats with a new atmosphere。 The dinner scene feels like one hell of a good time。 After doing The Servant of Two Masters （A THREE HOUR SHOW） written in 2009， this adaptation feels like a breeze and it's fun to see the same beats with a new atmosphere。 The dinner scene feels like one hell of a good time。 。。。more

Newly Wardell ，

I was supremely delighted by this hilarious retelling。 Those crazy Brits can write a good wheeze， cant they？ I hope every country gets a crack at this one。 This is a universally funny play。 I would love to see an big Bollywood version， or a wacky futuristic space opera。

Emily32 ，

Can we focus on the fact that this book is actually really sexist？ Like。。。 yes i get it， it was supposed to be funny bc it's set in the 60'， but come on。。。 it could be better Can we focus on the fact that this book is actually really sexist？ Like。。。 yes i get it， it was supposed to be funny bc it's set in the 60'， but come on。。。 it could be better 。。。more

Charlie Lee ，

This really is a play of two halves。 The first half is dull， old-fashioned， potentially offensive to working class people， and completely lacking in originality。 I only really laughed at the repeated jokes about Parkhurst。 However， the second half is fresh， witty， full of word play， metatheatrical addresses to the audience that comment of dramatic structure， and some satisfying farcical twists。 If truth be told， it starts to improve dramatically at the end of the first act， when dramatic irony i This really is a play of two halves。 The first half is dull， old-fashioned， potentially offensive to working class people， and completely lacking in originality。 I only really laughed at the repeated jokes about Parkhurst。 However， the second half is fresh， witty， full of word play， metatheatrical addresses to the audience that comment of dramatic structure， and some satisfying farcical twists。 If truth be told， it starts to improve dramatically at the end of the first act， when dramatic irony incites a character to talk about when there's finally a female Prime Minister （Thatcher） that she'll be kind， compassionate， maternal， care for the poor and against war。 I should clarify that I pushed on to read this because of a general interest in farce， despite switching off the National Theatre at home production after only 20 minutes。 I was pleasently surprised with second act and might even give the production another shot， though I tend to find James Corden annoying。 。。。more

Emily Maria ，

I watched the live performance of One Man， Two Guvnors over the summer during the National Theatre at Home， and then again recently on PBS。 I found this play a great piece of British comedy and improvisation， especially James Corden's Tony award winning performance。 Not initially knowing there were two different versions of the play， I later decided to request the U。K。 AND U。S。 editions of the play from the library to compare and contrast the texts。A modernization of the 18th century Italian com I watched the live performance of One Man， Two Guvnors over the summer during the National Theatre at Home， and then again recently on PBS。 I found this play a great piece of British comedy and improvisation， especially James Corden's Tony award winning performance。 Not initially knowing there were two different versions of the play， I later decided to request the U。K。 AND U。S。 editions of the play from the library to compare and contrast the texts。A modernization of the 18th century Italian comedy A Servant of Two Masters， One Man， Two Guvnors is very faithful to the original storyline from the use of improv to the insane shenanigans that take place on stage。 Like many theatre productions， One Man， Two Guvnors is a play that is best seen performed live， but if you enjoy reading theatre scripts， it is a fun afterwards read to get the jokes one might have missed in the performance。 When it comes to thoughts about the two editions of the play， I personally prefer the original U。K。 script。 Both the U。K。 and U。S。 editions do keep the same scenic layout and dramatic action。 However， in the U。S。 edition there are changes and additional lines that either hit or miss for me。 Some of the new lines do take me out of the moment and seem to drag too long （one example is an added fourth wall joke with a long-winded nod to the original Italian play）。 This argument is mostly likely a matter of opinion with seeing the U。K。 edition performed first and the U。S。 edition might be better for those who might not get many of the British jokes。 Whichever script you choose， I would highly recommend One Man， Two Guvnors as a great example of British stage comedy and insist for people to see the live performance on the PBS website before December。 Hope this will be an enjoyment to all who are missing live theatre right now！ 。。。more

Audrey Rose ，

I enjoy the concept of this play。 There is a climax to it but also an underlying story。 It was great to see the character development as well。 The comedic element is delightful。

Penelope Hill ，

Fantastically fun play。 Excellent。

Bobby Sullivan ，

There were a few laughs， but overall， it's just another farce。 And alas， I just don't care for the genre。 There were a few laughs， but overall， it's just another farce。 And alas， I just don't care for the genre。 。。。more

Monica ，

National Theatre at home

Jacqueline ，

Hilarious and light-hearted play。 Highly recommended， especially the National Theatre version with James Corden - silly yet adorable （"Tough one that， innit。"）。 It rarely happens that the actors deliberately overplay their characters and I still find it really entertaining。 Hilarious and light-hearted play。 Highly recommended， especially the National Theatre version with James Corden - silly yet adorable （"Tough one that， innit。"）。 It rarely happens that the actors deliberately overplay their characters and I still find it really entertaining。 。。。more

Not Mike ，

Play。Farce。 See also Servant of Two Masters （Comedian d’ell Arte） by Carlo Goldoni。

Irati Agirrezabalaga ，

4。5*

Rosamund ，

Highly entertaining update of the 18th century Italian play moved to Brighton in 1963。

Colin Mak ，

Watched the National Theatre Live show with James Corden - an absolutely brilliant， hilarious， and skillful performance。 The entire cast was exceptional， delivering each line， joke， and movement with perfect comedic timing。 James Corden was particularly superb， with his accent， gestures， and entire slapstick routines delivered perfectly。 I loved how they broke the fourth wall and involved the audience， especially when James explained Commedia dell'arte and his role as the Harlequin。 The set was Watched the National Theatre Live show with James Corden - an absolutely brilliant， hilarious， and skillful performance。 The entire cast was exceptional， delivering each line， joke， and movement with perfect comedic timing。 James Corden was particularly superb， with his accent， gestures， and entire slapstick routines delivered perfectly。 I loved how they broke the fourth wall and involved the audience， especially when James explained Commedia dell'arte and his role as the Harlequin。 The set was simple but used extremely effectively。 The only area I was confused about was the interesting use of the intersecting musical elements - it certainly breaks the fourth wall again， delivers some message， but its purpose was not fully clear for me （05/04/2020）。 。。。more

Alexander ，

This show is very funny but has some quite antiquated jokes。

Peter McCambridge ，

National Theatre live。

Blair ，

I watched the National Theatre At Home version featuring James Corden。 A brilliant adaptation， 'One Man， Two Guvnors' is the most a play has ever made me laugh。 Very much worth checking out。 I watched the National Theatre At Home version featuring James Corden。 A brilliant adaptation， 'One Man， Two Guvnors' is the most a play has ever made me laugh。 Very much worth checking out。 。。。more

Brian ，

I found myself laughing out loud at some of the lines and imagining how well it would play on stage。 I found with reading a play， you have to work much harder to get the same enjoyment out of watching it。At times I had to go back to remind myself what character was related to who and which character was which etc。 This is something that you don't have to do when you see them on stage as you physically see the person and know instantly who they are when they come back on stage。You get some spoile I found myself laughing out loud at some of the lines and imagining how well it would play on stage。 I found with reading a play， you have to work much harder to get the same enjoyment out of watching it。At times I had to go back to remind myself what character was related to who and which character was which etc。 This is something that you don't have to do when you see them on stage as you physically see the person and know instantly who they are when they come back on stage。You get some spoilers while reading the play in the form of notes and directions， things that would normally be a surprise if you were sitting in the theatre。 Plus it is a very physical play and I would probably laugh more seeing it in person。I'm glad I've read it， but think this is one of those plays that works better watching it live rather than reading it。 。。。more

Seema ，

Hilarious and well adapted。

Rick Giles ，

Brilliant adaptation。 Moliere should be proud。 And leeway for cast and director to make some really fun choices。 This is an update we can work with！

Elliot Mazer ，

As funny on the page as it was on the stage！

Zosia ，

Reading this play， I found myself bored by the slapstick nature and comedy but I powered on through to the end。 On the other hand once I saw a live production， I found myself rather enjoying the play as a whole。I understand there would be no play without the author， but I do believe that there is a lot of room for interpretation and what I enjoyed more about the production than the book was the engaging side- something the book I didn’t find had the power to do。 I would recommend seeing a produc Reading this play， I found myself bored by the slapstick nature and comedy but I powered on through to the end。 On the other hand once I saw a live production， I found myself rather enjoying the play as a whole。I understand there would be no play without the author， but I do believe that there is a lot of room for interpretation and what I enjoyed more about the production than the book was the engaging side- something the book I didn’t find had the power to do。 I would recommend seeing a production rather than just reading the play by itself。 。。。more

Dana Cordelia ，

I've been a fan of The Servant of Two Masters since childhood so I knew I'd like this spin on it。 It was easy to hear Francis （Truffaldino）'s words in James Corden's voice。 Excited to see this performed live！ I've been a fan of The Servant of Two Masters since childhood so I knew I'd like this spin on it。 It was easy to hear Francis （Truffaldino）'s words in James Corden's voice。 Excited to see this performed live！ 。。。more

Simon Fletcher ，

One of those plays， that because of its physicality， works less well on the page than it does in the theatre。 There are some great lines in here though and I did find myself laughing out loud。

Christine ，

Hilarious。 And a fun （and up-to-date） way to teach commedia dell'arte and the Servant of Two Masters。 Hilarious。 And a fun （and up-to-date） way to teach commedia dell'arte and the Servant of Two Masters。 。。。more

Ann ，

Cute， fun， playful reinvention of Goldoni's original。Cretin-Derham Hall's Production， Fall 2017。 Cute， fun， playful reinvention of Goldoni's original。Cretin-Derham Hall's Production， Fall 2017。 。。。more

Lauren ，

This review also references The Servant of Two MastersThe same plot stuck into two very different settings， The Servant of Two Masters and One Man， Two Guvnors are both delightful in their own ways。 The tale of a hapless servant who accidentally begins working for two different men， the play relies heavily on mistaken identity， timing， and other screwball hijinks。The Servant of Two Masters is an 18th-century Italian play that draws heavily from commedia dell’arte tradition。 One Man， Two Guvnors This review also references The Servant of Two MastersThe same plot stuck into two very different settings， The Servant of Two Masters and One Man， Two Guvnors are both delightful in their own ways。 The tale of a hapless servant who accidentally begins working for two different men， the play relies heavily on mistaken identity， timing， and other screwball hijinks。The Servant of Two Masters is an 18th-century Italian play that draws heavily from commedia dell’arte tradition。 One Man， Two Guvnors is a 21st-century English adaptation set in 1960s Brighton。The latter relies more heavily on its setting for laughs while The Servant of Two Masters has a more of a universal feel to it。 Both have their strong points， and I don’t think I could pick a favorite。 Both had me laughing out loud at parts， and I’m disappointed I didn’t have the chance to see the James Corden-led version of One Man， Two Guvnors on Broadway。 Recommended。 。。。more

David ，

If you missed seeing it， reading it is the next best thing。 This play is hilarious！ Pick it up for when you need a laugh， but try to catch the National Theater production of it if you can。

Patrick Neylan ，

Seen at Bromley Little Theatre: definitely a play that achieves its full potential on the stage。 Plenty of slapstick and fast-paced， physical humour， with audience participation wired in。 All the elements of high farce are here， with mistaken identity and messages （and money， and food） going astray; quite similar to Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors （which I saw the previous week）。 Seen at Bromley Little Theatre: definitely a play that achieves its full potential on the stage。 Plenty of slapstick and fast-paced， physical humour， with audience participation wired in。 All the elements of high farce are here， with mistaken identity and messages （and money， and food） going astray; quite similar to Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors （which I saw the previous week）。 。。。more

John ，

As is so often the case it would play better than it reads。 Still great fun though with plenty of gags and a pacy plot

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=One Man, Two Guvnors

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=One Man, Two Guvnors&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,One Man, Two Guvnors&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0