Present Laughter

Adrian Lukis brings relaxed, well-observed charm to Len

I was somewhat disappointed by the UK tour of Present Laughter, which I saw at ATG’s Richmond Theatre. That surprised me. The advertising shows Noël Coward’s name without making it clear that this is Tracy-Ann Oberman’s largely gender-swapped adaptation, with the action moved to the 1970s. Oberman plays Geri, the ageing theatrical star at the centre of the comedy. Coward’s play has lasted for good reason, but this version left me wondering what its changes were meant to reveal.

Oberman is often entertaining to watch. Geri can switch in an instant from grand actor mode to grumpy irritation or an almost babyish voice, and Oberman clearly enjoys those changes. Yet the performance is so heightened that I struggled to find much sincerity beneath them. Perhaps that is part of the character, but it makes it harder to care when the demands on Geri become more than another chance for her to perform.

The decision to move the action to the 1970s also feels like an idea that hasn’t been fully explored. The costumes and pop art give it an immediate period look, but the setting rarely seems to affect how the characters behave. With one of Geri’s friends now a man, there is a gay element to a relationship that could have added an interesting layer. The production doesn’t appear interested in what being gay during that period might mean for him. If you choose such a specific time, I want it to matter beyond the visuals.

Looking at Coward’s original script afterwards, I was struck by changes that go beyond swapping the characters’ genders. Some jokes have gone, while other lines have been replaced with more general dialogue. There is nothing wrong with reworking a classic, but I missed the sharpness I expect from Coward. Strangely, several characters feel bigger while the comedy in the words feels smaller.

That is especially noticeable in the pacing. Despite the title, the laughs took a while to arrive for me. Things pick up after the interval, and there are moments when the entrances, exits and misunderstandings begin to build towards farce. Too often, though, the momentum drops before they can really take off. Johannes, played by Kit Young, tries to give energy and vocal force, but I couldn’t quite follow the motivation behind one of the production’s major plot turns involving him. The shouting felt awkward rather than striking enough to justify the weight placed on the role.

I found more to enjoy in some of the supporting performances. Adrian Lukis’s Len, Geri’s ex-husband, was my favourite character: relaxed, level-headed and secure in the space. There is a lovely small detail in the way he taps his foot behind him, a familiar human mannerism amid so many theatrical ones. The men bring a pleasingly proper British, almost Upstairs, Downstairs quality to parts of the evening.

The household staff are less clearly drawn. Morris, the butler, serves breakfast and makes coffee, but I was never quite sure what his place in Geri’s life was meant to be. Mentions of a girlfriend and moonlighting as a Studio 54 bouncer suggest a more interesting person than we get to know. The maid, meanwhile, felt rather generic. She could have had the odd comic presence of Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, but the performance never quite reaches that point.

The set has a similar problem. It looks good at first glance, with a giant pop art portrait and a poster of Geri making her vanity clear. But the metal spiral staircase and exposed steel girder make the apartment feel more like a converted building than the luxurious home I imagined for this star. At times, the main room resembled a waiting area, with people arriving to take their turn with Geri, rather than a place where anyone actually lives or works.

I am usually wary of stunt casting, yet this is one production where a widely recognised star in the lead might have added a much needed layer of theatrical comedy. An audience bringing its own knowledge of the performer could have made Geri’s celebrity and self-importance even funnier.

There is enough here to earn three stars: an enjoyable central display, a few well-observed performances and moments when the comedy begins to click. But I left feeling that the production’s choices had not quite come together. Whether that is down to the gender swap, the 1970s setting or the adaptation itself, I cannot say for certain. What I saw was good in places; I had hoped it would make me laugh much more.

★★★