Tag Archives: Ryan Lane

The Crown Jewels

The Crown Jewels

★★★

Garrick Theatre

THE CROWN JEWELS at the Garrick Theatre

★★★

The Crown Jewels

“survives on the energy of its comedians, and the competence of the rest of the cast”

Expect to be disappointed if you turn up to the Garrick Theatre for an historically accurate show about King Charles II and the theft of the Crown Jewels in 1671. If, on the other hand, you are buying a ticket for Simon Nye’s The Crown Jewels because you know that several of Britain’s leading comedians and stand up artists are in the cast, you will probably enjoy this show. You will then, quite rightly, be expecting an entertaining evening full of ad libs and dangerously outrageous exchanges with the audience. But let me give you some words of advice anyway: gentlemen, don’t sit in the first three rows if you aren’t sporting a well made periwig. And ladies, don’t sit there either if your partner is even slightly prone to fits of jealousy. Don’t expect to be safe from the cast’s attention if you splurged on tickets for a box, either.

The facts surrounding the seventeenth century’s most notorious jewel heist are well known. But if you need a refresher, the programme notes for The Crown Jewels are well written and provide a wealth of background information about the main characters in Nye’s drama. The appropriately named Colonel Thomas Blood apparently hatched a plot to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in an attempt to recover his Irish estates. Blood lost those as a result of switching sides to support the Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. Hatching plots against the Crown was nothing new to Blood—he’d been involved in several—but stealing the royal regalia was the crowning event of his career, as it were. If only Nye’s play was as well constructed as the programme notes. But The Crown Jewels is a shaky mash up in Horrible Histories, Blackadder—and even Panto—territory, and we’re nowhere near panto season in August. But perhaps it doesn’t matter. The Crown Jewels has been created to provide a rich—seriously rich—backdrop for its comic stars. It’s difficult not to see the rest of the show as just adroitly crafted stage management of a complicated set with lots of changing scenery.

It takes a while to warm to The Crown Jewels, and this is mostly time spent trying to figure out the plot. The characters on stage bear no resemblance whatsoever to the historical figures they are meant to represent. But let’s list them anyway. There’s Al Murray, (of Pub Landlord fame) playing Charles II with a strangled accent, Mel Giedroyc, (Great British Bake Off) doubling as the Keeper of the Crown Jewels’ gap toothed wife and—a brilliant contrast this —a very seductive French Noblewoman; Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly) as Blood’s co-conspirator Captain Perrot; and Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners) as Blood’s son. Carrie Hope Fletcher is given the opportunity to show off her beautiful singing voice as Elizabeth Edwards. She otherwise has little else to do as the Keeper’s daughter desperately searching for a husband, if only to avoid calling the Tower of London, home. The gifted Aidan McArdle as Colonel Blood has the thankless task of acting the villain, yet manages to make him sympathetic. Adonis Siddique has the even more thankless task of supporting Charles II as a footman.

But the real crown jewel of this production is, of course, Al Murray, doing his recognizable schtick as the Merry Monarch himself. There are lots of inappropriate jokes of all kinds, involving the newly discovered banana, to mention just one routine. McArdle really had my sympathy there. And on this particular evening, Murray set up a lively exchange with a couple of audience members from Australia (still undiscovered in Charles II’s time.) The Dutch also came in for a particular roasting, as the historical Charles was still smarting, in 1671, from a daring naval attack on London. One or two supporters attempted to stand up for the poor Dutch, and were ruthlessly put back in their places. Murray knows how to work his crowd.

The Crown Jewels survives on the energy of its comedians, and the competence of the rest of the cast. The set design by Michael Taylor (who also designed the costumes) is also competent, although not, strictly speaking, historically accurate either. But pretty to look at, nonetheless. Fans of Al Murray will enjoy this show. But it’s not suitable for children, despite its similarity to panto. And The Crown Jewels won’t teach you much about the complicated politics and larger than life characters who really lived during Charles II’s reign. But it’s an enjoyable evening in the West End, nonetheless.


THE CROWN JEWELS at the Garrick Theatre

 

Reviewed on 8th August 2023

by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Hugo Glendinning

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Orlando | ★★★★ | December 2022
Myra Dubois: Dead Funny | ★★★★ | September 2021

The Crown Jewels

The Crown Jewels

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Ryan Lane Will Be There Now In A Minute

★★★★

VAULT Festival 2020

Ryan Lane Will Be There Now In A Minute

Ryan Lane Will Be There Now In A Minute

Cage – The Vaults

Reviewed – 29th February 2020

★★★★

 

“Every opportunity is seized to squeeze every laugh out of a moment, and Lane does it with aplomb”

 

As Ryan Lane bounds on in a mix of traditional Welsh (women’s) dress and a foliage-infused scarlet cape, you’d be forgiven for thinking, ‘perhaps this is a bit too niche’. It was no concern to me as a fellow Welshman, but there was a definite anxiety in the audience in the opening to Ryan Lane Will Be There Now in a Minute. Luckily, the subsequent 55 minutes or so sees Lane charm and delight with a truly hilarious and occasionally poignant look at small-town characters and values.

Set in the rural town of Llandiloes, Lane takes us on a tour of the cast of characters that inhabits it, ranging from the school rugby teacher to the local tour guide. They interact with the audience while going about their daily business, framing them as reluctant sports students or unenthusiastic tourists, which sets up a goldmine of comic potential that Lane unrelentingly reaps. Every opportunity is seized to squeeze every laugh out of a moment, and Lane does it with aplomb, through the extensive physical and vocal toolkit that he and director Georgia Murphy establish with each character. The wit oozing from the script is also exceptional, with a Python-esque surreality to some of the one-liners conjuring a cacophony of belly laughs from the audience.

The sinew connecting each character that Lane depicts is the undercurrent of bigotry that comes entrenched with living in a close-knit rural community such as Llandiloes, and is delivered with expert subtlety in telling the story of a schoolboy struggling with his sexuality. Where many shows fall into the trap of becoming too preachy, Ryan Lane Will Be There Now in a Minute almost swings too far in the opposite direction, displaying unfathomable restraint, letting the irreverent hilarity on the surface smuggle in the more meaningful undertones lurking beneath.

 

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography by Bruce Wang

 

VAULT Festival 2020

 

 

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