Take a little know (true) story about a 17th-century heist on the attempted robbery of King Charles II’s crown jewels by an Irish rebel, add some of the absolute best comedic talent, and you have THE CROWN JEWELS which is at the New Theatre in Cardiff this week.
It really is a who’s who of TV and stage in the cast, with some of our finest talent telling this crazy plot, which in itself is a really fascinating story, albeit wrapped up in a comedy script.
It tells the almost unbelievable story of Colonel Thomas Blood (AIDAN MCARDLE), who on 9th May 1671 attempted to getaway with the jewels from the Tower of London, with Robert Perrot usually played by NEIL MORRISSEY but last night RYAN LANE filled in, and made a fine job. There’s also the Colonel’s son (JOE THOMAS) and an actor posing as his wife (TANVI VIRMANI).
Theatre royalty herself CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER plays Elizabeth Edwards/Lady of the Bedchamber, MEL GIEDROYC is Mrs Edwards/French Noblewoman and rounding off this right regal company of players is Charles II himself AL MURRAY, who is actually making his theatrical debut in the play. The cast is complete with TANVI VIRMANI as Jenny Blaine/Jailer and ADONIS SIDDIQUE who is Wythe Edwards/Footman, and also hilarious. He’ll have you laughing before he even speaks a line.
Now you’ve probably guessed that although the story is a serious one, the execution is anything but. This is a funny show, with some fantastic performances, as last night’s audience will tell you……..
SIMON NYE is the BAFTA-nominated creator of ITV’s The Durrells and BBC 1’s Men Behaving Badly. The show is directed by multi-Olivier Award winner SEAN FOLEY (Upstart Crow, The Ladykillers). The Crown Jewels is produced by SIMON FRIEND.
So, with Simon Nye, and a cast who are best known for their ‘actors behaving badly‘ roles, you’d expect a bit of good old fashioned bawdy behaviour on our Cardiff stage, and that’s precisely what you get.
And it’s the cast which sweep this unlikely history lesson along at a fair old pace. At times we have organised chaos on stage, and I wondered on a few occasions if the script had been pushed to one side taking us in a slightly different direction. Deliberate or not, it’s this unpredictability which makes this show a joy. Honestly, I’m presuming you’ll never know what you’re going to get from one performance to the next – and that’s a good thing.
There’s some seasoned talent on our stage this week and amongst all the unpredictable capers, the sometimes chaotic hilarity, you know you are in the safest of performing hands with a cast expert in delivering lines, with impecable timing, no matter what, or who is throwing the unexpected at them
There’s a moment when Mel Giedroyc comes onto the stage when the audience have a little approving mumble to welcome her. Whether they are Bake Off fans, or have followed Mel through her long and varied comedy career, many in the audience were there to see her perform, and we weren’t disappointed- she is hilarious (and a bit of a giggler too).
Mel is funny, there’s no other way to put it, she naturally exudes comedy and when she’s paired with Al Murray, which they often are, it’s something very special. They are the perfect pairing and effortlessly have us laughing at every moment. I should say the rest of the cast are also victims to a bit or Mel and Al tomfoolery.
Aiden, Joe and Ryan are brilliant together, with plenty of physical comedy, which clearly comes with a lot of trust in each other. There’s a touch of ‘naughty schoolboy’ in their scenes. I would urge you to watch out for those moments when they also try (and succeed) to mess with the other cast.
There’s a bit of history, fairly accurately retold, and an awful lot of our favourite performers, clearly having as good a time up there, as we were down in the auditorium – and on a few occasion the twain did meet. Al Murray’s on stage, what do you expect.
At times we in the audience are very much a part of the show – it was like early preparation for Panto. I would love to tell you more about how we fit into the story, but for one it would spoil it, and secondly, it’ll be completely different at your performance. Needless to say, it’s great fun and incredibly funny.
There is a long scene when Al Murray, as King Charles, basically does his stand up act, with the audience his target. For this section alone the show is worth the price of the ticket. It’s pointless me telling you any of his gags as they were all ‘had to be there‘ moments. When you go to see The Crown Jewel, and I would urge you to give it a go, you’ll see what I mean.
It’s way too easy to compare The Crown Jewels to other similar shows, but in this case it is most definitely the cast who bring in the crowds and give it a certain unique character. I honestly don’t know when I’ve seen so much comedy talented squeezed into one, occasionally ridiculous, always funny script.
As if to add to the madness of it all, the show opens with a performance from Carrie Hope Fletcher introducing Charles II in song. She has an incredible voice, as the thunderous applause proved when she hit the final note. That quickly turned into laughter as the King himself, Al Murray, pops up out of his bed – and so the madness began.
The comedy may be crude, and filled with innuendo, but the skill of this masterful class of players make it a right royal treat, and an unexpected surprise for such a new show. This is one I think we’ll see again in the future.
THE CROWN JEWELS is at the New Theatre in Cardiff through to Saturday 7th October. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening withe a 2:30pm matinee on Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets start at £24, with a variety of concessions in place. For more details, and to get yours, go HERE.
You can read our original show feature – HERE.
