Details

Underpaid. Overstretched. A wily Italian servant gets lucky in this classic commedia. Truffaldino is an out of work servant, and in one fantastic day he ends up with two jobs. And why not? - he's broke and hungry. Two jobs means twice as much money and twice as much food. It also means twice as much work. His two masters, meanwhile, are just as busy. Separated lovers on the run, they end up in the same inn, each unaware that the other is there. Which isn't difficult seeing as one of them is in drag. Confusion abounds in Carlo Goldoni's tale of disguise, deception, love and longing in Venice. Lee Hall's new adaptation of Goldoni's mould-breaking comedy of men and women, masters and servants imbues The Servant of Two Masters with contamporary wit and wisdom. Young lovers Clarice and Silvio have no sooner got engaged than a servant arrives to announce that Clarice's previous fiance, Federigo Rasponi, believed dead, is at the door to claim his bride. 'Signor Rasponi' is actually the dead man's sister Beatrice, come to Venice in disguise to pursue her lover Florindo. Truffaldino manages to be employed as a servant to both Beatric and Florindo, each ignorant of the other's presence in the city. To cover up the duplication he has to invent another imaginary servant. Mayhem ensues.

Cast/Performers

Nikki Amuka-Bird (Clarice), Ariyon Bakare (Florindo), Geoffrey Beevers (Doctor Lombardi), Paul Bentall (Pantalone), Michelle Butterly (Smeraldina), Claire Cox (Beatrice), Orlando Seale (Silvio), Jason Watkins (Truffaldino)

Creatives/Company

Author: Carlo Goldoni
Company(s): Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Young Vic Theatre Company
Adapted by: Lee Hall
Director: Tim Supple
Translation: Lee Hall
Design: Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting: Paul Anderson
Sound: Andrea J Cox

A Servant of Two Masters

A Servant of Two Masters (Play) production archive for QTIX code T01445780585. Details of all A Servant of Two Masters archived productions can be found under the QTIX code: S4910

Archive Listings

4 Feb 00 to 11 Mar 00	The Young Vic West End, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive
8 Dec 99 to 22 Jan 00	The Other Place Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire Performance Details => Venue archive

Reviews

The Times: 11Jan01:
Energy and glee mark Supple's cast and Hall's translation, which is crisp, inventive and packed with insults.

Daily Mail: 11Jan01:
Tim Supple's production is built around a remarkable performance by a remarkable young actor, Jason Watkins. Watkins plays Truffaldino as a capering somersaulting zany as if born to the rôle.

Time Out: 11Jan01:
The joy of the evening is Jason Watkins' moonfaced clown Truffaldino, the servant of the title, who lives in a topsy-turvy world of his own. Hall has come up with a lively, trenchant translation, writing some good new jokes to replace Goldoni's old ones. Michelle Butterly is stridently contemporary as the uppity maid Smeraldina, who has a sound understanding of the way men work. The other characters gain by being played with greater than usual realism.

Daily Telegraph: 11Jan01:
Lee Hall has come up with a superb new version of the play that brilliantly combines hilarity and darkness. With his pallid face and spiky hair, Watkins miraculously combines the insolence of Johnny Rotten, the cringing servility of Norman Wisdom and the splendidly aggrieved quality of Terry in The Likely Lads. Add to these a formidable physical dexterity and a cheeky, audience-baiting charm that never cloys, and you have a performance approaching comic perfection. Such richness in what is essentially a caper comedy strikes me as a rare achievement.

: 11Jan01:
Sharp writing by [Lee Hall] has given [Tim Supple] and the cast ample room to make this a vehicle for showing off [Jason Wilkins]' comic and acrobatic skills. Brilliant!

User Reviews

The Times (11Jan01): Energy and glee mark Supple's cast and Hall's translation, which is crisp, inventive and packed with insults.

Daily Mail (11Jan01): Tim Supple's production is built around a remarkable performance by a remarkable young actor, Jason Watkins. Watkins plays Truffaldino as a capering somersaulting zany as if born to the rôle.

Time Out (11Jan01): The joy of the evening is Jason Watkins' moonfaced clown Truffaldino, the servant of the title, who lives in a topsy-turvy world of his own. Hall has come up with a lively, trenchant translation, writing some good new jokes to replace Goldoni's old ones. Michelle Butterly is stridently contemporary as the uppity maid Smeraldina, who has a sound understanding of the way men work. The other characters gain by being played with greater than usual realism.

Daily Telegraph (11Jan01): Lee Hall has come up with a superb new version of the play that brilliantly combines hilarity and darkness. With his pallid face and spiky hair, Watkins miraculously combines the insolence of Johnny Rotten, the cringing servility of Norman Wisdom and the splendidly aggrieved quality of Terry in The Likely Lads. Add to these a formidable physical dexterity and a cheeky, audience-baiting charm that never cloys, and you have a performance approaching comic perfection. Such richness in what is essentially a caper comedy strikes me as a rare achievement.

USER (11Jan01): Sharp writing by [Lee Hall] has given [Tim Supple] and the cast ample room to make this a vehicle for showing off [Jason Wilkins]' comic and acrobatic skills. Brilliant!

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