Play: Perfect Nonsense

I like having an excuse to get dressed up on occasion, and this was one such. I went to see Perfect Nonsense, a Jeeves and Wooster farce, at the Duke of York's theatre. The official box office had sold out, but third-party sellers had tickets, and the cheapest were with www.lovetheatre.com.

So, having changed frenziedly after work, I scurried into town and made it as they were giving the three-minute call. I'd booked the rear stalls (row R), because they were cheaper but not advertised as having restricted view. In fact, I'd found an online review of the seat two in from mine, which said that, although at times it felt a bit far from the action, the view was fine and the overhang (which is pronounced) doesn't impact most productions. Indeed, from where I was sitting I could see the overhead lights on stage. I think that's high enough for most people's purposes! Legroom also fine, as you'd expect from the stalls. I noticed that some seats were left empty - I guess they'd been bought up by third-party vendors and not sold on. I think that's a real shame - some venues buy them back and resell them on the evening, which gives theatregoers a chance to see a show they might otherwise not.

Well, I love Jeeves and Wooster. Always have. And I enjoyed this as much as I expected to. Jolly good, I say! Comedy is subjective, and this won't be to everyone's taste, but I found the farce gentle, and just nicely silly enough. Matthew Macfadyen is perfect as Jeeves, the long-suffering "gentleman's gentleman". Sadly, Stephen Mangan was "indisposed", and someone else stood in as Bertie Wooster, the hapless aristocrat - I would have preferred Stephen Mangan, I think he's more naturally funny. But it was a fun evening, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Jeeves and Wooster stories.

Guildford tomorrow, so perhaps nothing tomorrow night, I'll see how I feel. And then on Wednesday, it's off to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..