Jermyn Street Theatre 13 February – 11 March. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
The Beau Brummell of this play is a far cry from the image of the young dandy immortalised nearby in Jermyn Street. Bankrupt, insane and dependent on the charity of nuns, Brummell is living in a madhouse in Calais with valet Austin. Austin ushers in noble visitors for imaginary conversations with Brummell, full of repeated stories of his triumphs and theories. On the day the (real) king is visiting Calais, Brummell waits in deluded expectation for a personal visit and reunion after the very public end of their friendship years before.
The men’s relationship is like a Wildean Steptoe and Son, with Austin’s frantic calculations on his fingers of profit from a variety of potential money making schemes making you expect the man to start eating pickled onions in the tin bath. The ritual of dressing Brummell is given a holy treatment, as befitting his fixation with style, even in the soiled clothes he has left. Arms flung out in Messianic pose, with Austin shuffling around him on his knees, these scenes are funny and poignant.
Ron Hutchinson’s wordy and witty script is full of magical verbal interplay between the two characters, but not much happens, which may not be everybody’s cup of tea. There is more action and tension in the second act, when Austin’s true plans for the king are revealed, but the verbal sparring continues to great effect. The king’s arrival in Calais is treated with sly humour – Austin’s revolutionary fervour crumbling into dust in the face of English pomp and pageantry.
Seán Brosnan is perfect as Brummell, pompous and judgemental, pronouncing his words of wisdom about style and society like a preacher, but never allowing the audience to forget the underlying fear and madness with finely nuanced pauses and expressions. Richard Latham is full of contradictions as Austin, simmering resentment, tender care and self-preservation all swirling around in a complex and subtle performance.
A beautifully crafted play with wonderful sympathetic performances. Well worth a look.