The Shaw Festival has had some notable success in recent years with British farce. It’s a good fit for the festival- quick and physical and light while fitting squarely into the mandate that can otherwise sometimes be a bit stiff. But, like tap dance musicals before it, farce has become a bit of a crutch for the company, finding something that works then leaning too hard on it at the expense of a more diverse slate of programming. This season has two outright farces and a few other things with elements I would call at least farce-adjacent, and that doesn’t even factor in Funny Girl, which is about a farce actress. One great farce in a season can be a bolt of energy; too much and it starts to get exhausting.
None of that is the fault of Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, a charming and swift three-hander capitalizing on source material close to the hearts of target demo boomers. Playing on the newly reconfigured and reopened Court House Theatre (now set up as a proscenium to replace the closed Royal George), Jeeves & Wooster is excellently cast and cleverly directed by longtime favourite Brendan McMurtry-Howlett. The script itself- adapted from PG Wodehouse’s novel The Code of the Woosters– completely, by design, lacks substance, which puts an awful lot of pressure on the execution of the comedy to maintain interest over the two act show. Your mileage may vary on how well said interest is maintained but it’s hard to indict this team on effort or pace. The recurring gag of Jeeves’ hyper-helpful theatre magic could maybe be pushed a little further with some wilder effects but overall the production is pretty darn tight.
Jeff Irving as bumbling aristocrat Bertie Wooster is, as always, a lovable leading man in his most common hit of sweetheart dumdum and it’s always nice to see him stretch his non-musical muscles. Hyperkinetic Travis Seetoo leaps with wild abandon between multiple characters while Damien Atkins’ trademark seriousness strikes a perfect juxtaposition as he takes great care with the high-effort work of true silliness.
Whether or not to recommend this piece is entirely a matter of taste. It’s not my humour style so my bar is very high for truly enjoying a farce. But if you grew up with this style or you’re not, like me, deeply broken and therefore need everything to be at least a little bit sad, this is surely a fun time. Especially if you’re not seeing another farce a mere three hours later.