The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

bite theatre Pauline is disappointed as she really wants to marry Alan. To complicate matters, Roscoe is really Rachel Crabbe (Jemima Rooper), his twin sister in disguise, whose brother was killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers (Oliver Chris), described as an upper-class twit. Rachel has to keep up the pretence that Roscoe is still alive so that she can get the money that is owed to her brother from Charlie the Duck and run away to Australia with her lover. What I loved about this play was the way Corden interacts with the audience and seeks their help when trying to keep his two bosses, Roscoe and Stanley, frommeeting each other, so they do not discover he’s working for the other. Besides complaining about not having eaten for several hours and constantly harping on about food, he has to tend to their lug- gage at the local pub owned by Lloyd Boateng (Trevor Laird), a chef from the Caribbean and Charlie the Duck’s friend. He also has to arrange a meal for both of them which proves to be a trying task. Before each dish is served to both of his bosses, Henshall takes a portion for himself to have later with the help of a member of the audience. Every time he goes to serve one, the other comes out of the other dining room asking where their food or bottle of wine is. It was hilarious watching him trying to satisfy both of them without detection. An extremely el- derly waiter, Alfie (Tom Edden), who happened to start that day got a lot of belly laughs from the audience when he was knocked down the stairs or struggled to carry things with shaking hands. A couple of mixed messages in the letters that Henshall was meant to deliver to Roscoe aka Rachel and Stanley individu- ally almost cost them their lives when they think the other is dead and vow they cannot live without the other. In a Romeo and Juliet scenario, Stanley jumps off the pier into the water but upon hearing Rachel’s voice who is about to do the same thing, he somehow manages to climb back up drenched in water. The lovers are reunited and there’s a bit of carrying on, where you would normally shout “Get a room!” A fun-to-watch play that will have you laughing through- out, James Corden is amazing as Francis Henshall. Not only does he go to lengths of trying to find food to eat, but he also finds romance with Charlie’s bookkeeper, the feminist Dolly (Suzie Toase). What made me laugh is that he tried to disguise himself as Paddy, an imaginary friend upon whom he pinned a lot of his shortcomings. Eventually, Henshall is discovered having two bosses and has to explain his actions. In the end, everything works out well for everyone