OUR MAN IN HAVANA
Theatre Royal Windsor
★★★
“the intelligence of Francis’ script shines through”
Graham Greene’s “Our Man In Havana”, published in 1958, is set in a time just before the Cuban Revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Greene had recently been deported from Cuba for having been a member of the Communist party as a student. For his novel, he drew on his own experiences as a counter-intelligence officer for MI6, resulting in a biting satire of the Cold War intelligence agencies. Hardly fertile ground for humour, but Greene managed to create a light-hearted, farcical insight into the world of espionage without compromising his attention to detail and literary imagination.
Clive Francis’ stage adaptation of the novel shows the same attention to detail, with very little of the book’s narrative overlooked, and pretty much all the characters present and correct. The fact that over thirty roles are played by a cast of four is a feat in itself. Or rather, three actors: Jack Ashton, who plays the central protagonist, Wormold, has the luxury of focusing on his one role while, all around him, the other three are rushing around adopting multiple personalities at breakneck speed. It is a work-out just watching and trying to keep up. Familiarity with Greene’s story will definitely help, but it is not essential.
Wormold is a British vacuum cleaner salesman, seemingly stranded in Havana, and in a dead-end job. It is the city where he fell in love, and he seems to be grasping onto it. A bit of a lost cause, he spends his days drinking and worrying about his daughter’s penchant for spending money he hasn’t got. He suddenly finds himself being offered a job as a spy, but is is even less adept at espionage than he is at selling vacuum cleaners. Nevertheless, he somehow manages to spot a way of selling false information and concocting fantasies that keep HQ satisfied, while lining his own pockets. It was – allegedly – a regular practice (Wormold was based on a real-life spy nicknamed ‘Garbo’).
There is almost too much to take in; a challenge that director Philip Wilson faces by pushing the piece rapidly through its paces. Half performance and half narration, the audience are kept up to speed. Greene’s inherent dark comedy suffers, however, and we are treated with slapstick instead of subtle humour. Meanwhile, the individual characters have too little stage time to progress beyond caricature or cameo. The obvious exception is Wormold, whom Ashton successfully steers from bumbling incredulity to a mounting disbelief and horror (almost) that his fake reports are starting to come true, and he needs to start fighting for the safety of friends and loved ones.
Jodie Steele is a striking presence as love interest, Beatrice, with her cut-glass RP accent and taut mannerisms, but is remarkably less convincing as Wormold’s over-indulged daughter, Milly, who at eighteen is going on nine. Bob Barrett relishes his many roles that include the dubious Dr. Hasselbacher and the enigmatic Hawthorne who instigates Wormold’s absurd career change. Leon Ockenden completes the line up with an excess of personalities, including military strongman Segura and, bizarrely, a young Queen Elizabeth.
Julie Godfrey’s set is a warm backdrop that is almost too pristine, lacking the crumbling decadence the piece requires. Transitions, executed by the cast themselves, lead us through various locations from the bars to the brothels to seedy street corners; although the authenticity is often compromised by the action. Car rides are predictable with their well-worn swaying movements and dismembered steering wheels. Strippers and waiters populate scenes, as do stuffed animals and wayward accents, but we are longing to get back to the heart of the matter.
We do get glimpses, and when that happens the intelligence of Francis’ script shines through. As does the sheer energy of the performances. But it somehow misses the point. This is not Graham Greene’s vision of his story by any means (we wonder what he might make of it all) but, like the unwitting hero of the play, we are kept on our toes throughout.
OUR MAN IN HAVANA
Theatre Royal Windsor then UK Tour continues
Reviewed on 8th July 2026
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Jack Merriman
