The escapades of Bertie Wooster and his butler are to return to the London stage in February when the Landor theatre stages Alan Ayckbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s By Jeeves.
The musical, first staged in 1996, follows Wooster’s attempt to give a banjo concert in a church hall. When his instrument goes missing, his trusty manservant suggests he entertain the audience with tales of high society romantic misadventure.
The Landor’s revival of By Jeeves features tap-inspired choreography by Andrew Wright, whose work on Chichester Festival theatre’s production of 42nd Street was described by The Times’s theatre critic Libby Purves as “the most expressive tap I have seen” and by Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph as “an exhilarating orgy of tap-dancing”.
The show is directed by Nick Bagnall, who recently directed the revival of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane at London’s Trafalgar Studios, and features design by Morgan Large, whose West End credits include Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Footloose. Casting information is yet to be announced.
Clapham’s Landor theatre is building a reputation as one of the London fringe’s most exciting musical theatre venues, having received impressive reviews for its recent productions including Smokey Joe’s Café, Closer Than Ever and Tomorrow Morning.
MA