Starring Rufus Hound: One Man, Two Guvnors At The Theatre Royal

STAR OF THE WEDDING VIDEO HEADS TO NEWCASTLE WITH AWARD WINNING COMEDY

Actor, stand-up comedian, presenter and star of Brit-flick The Wedding Video Rufus Hound will lead the cast in Nicholas Hytner’s five star award-winning production of One Man, Two Guvnors when it comes to Newcastle Theatre Royal this Autumn (6 – 10 Nov 2012)

Rufus will take the lead role of Francis Henshall, played to acclaim by James Corden recently in the West End.   Rufus is best known as a comedian and TV and radio personality, where his work includes seven series of the award-winning Celebrity Juice, the BBC sitcom Hounded, 8 out of 10 Cats, The Xtra Factor, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and the forthcoming primetime comedy show Mad Mad World (ITV1).

Radio work includes Act Your Age and My Teenage Diary for Radio 4, as well as his own comedy show What’s So Funny. He is currently making his professional stage debut in Utopia at The Soho Theatre, while film credits include My Big Fat Gypsy Gangster and The Wedding Video (in which he plays best man Raif Moyle, currently on release and showing across the region) and forthcoming film Wingman scheduled for release later this year. 

One Man, Two Guvnors won the Evening Standard and Critics Circle Awards for Best New Play; a Broadway production opened in New York in April 2012. UK critics have called One Man, Two Guvnors ‘one of the funniest productions in the National’s history’ (The Guardian), ‘deliriously daft and diabolically joke stuffed entertainment’ (The Independent) and ‘pure comic bliss.’ (Evening Standard), while The New York Times described it as ‘a rich, slow-spreading smile.’

In Richard Bean’s award-winning version of Carlo Goldoni’s classic Italian comedy, The Servant of Two Masters, sex, food and money are high on the agenda.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancee’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at the Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

With songs by Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors Physical Comedy Director is Cal McCrystal, revival director is Adam Penford, designs are by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Mark Henderson, sound design by Paul Arditti and fight direction by Kate Waters.

Richard Bean’s plays include England People Very Nice for the National, The Heretic, Harvest  (winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play), Honeymoon Suite, Under the Whaleback and Toast for the Royal Court and The Big Fellah for Out of Joint at the Lyric Hammersmith and on tour.  He adapted David Mamet’s House of Games and wrote a new version of The Hypochondriac for the Almeida Theatre. Bean won the 2011 Evening Standard Award for Best Play for One Man, Two Guvnors and The Heretic.

Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta … , Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice, Phèdre, The Habit of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet and Collaborators.

One Man Two Guvnors appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 6 – Sat 10 November 2012 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Thursday 2pm and Saturday 2.30pm). Tickets are £9.00 - £30.00 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Richard Bean’s award-winning play is a glorious celebration of British comedy: a unique, laugh-out-loud mix of satire, songs, slapstick and glittering one-liners. Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe... but Roscoe is really Rachel, posing as her own dead brother... who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a job with one Stanley Stubbers. To prevent discovery Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple. WINNER – Best New Play Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards