Havana a fine time, wish you were here?

REVIEW: Our Man in Havana – Malvern Theatres (Tuesday, August 25 to Saturday, August 29). Matinees 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Showtime! stars rating: * * * *

THE well-worn dramatic device of mistaken identity and its limitless comic potential had probably developed grey whiskers by the time young Will Shakepeare was knee-high to a Tudor grasshopper.

Clearly, it was well to the front in the literary armoury of prolific writer Graham Greene, who used it to good effect with this classic piece set in pre-revolutionary Cuba.

British vacuum cleaner salesman James Wormold (Jack Ashton) takes up the theme with a vengeance in a performance lasting – interval included – nearly three hours.

It would seem that adaptor Clive Francis has run short of blue pencils. Dare I say it, but a novel is NOT a play. One shouldn’t be expected to bring along a bed when attending the theatre, sir.

Nevertheless, Greene’s mojito-sharp wit deserves more than a cursory airing, and so one tries to stay the course of a creation that has more twists and turns than a dancer at the Buena Vista Social Club.

So, Wormold finds himself being recruited as a spy by a British secret service man played with every cliché one would expect of the part by Bob Barrett, aided and abetted by Leon Ockendon, a slimmer version of the former.

The quickfire costume changes required for various roles are - by the way - absolutely astonishing, especially the rapidity with which femme fatale Jodie Steele burns through various frocks and trouser suits with immaculate timing.

But back to Wormold. The idea of a complete blockhead taking charge of a vital operation, in this case the world of espionage is as indicated earlier, a well-travelled route, being used to good effect in Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop!

In this much-celebrated novel, Waugh drew on his own experiences in journalism. And Greene certainly used his own inside knowledge of the world of spies to good effect here, closely adhering to that old maxim that writers should always scribble about what they know best.

I was a bit disappointed with Julie Godfrey’s set, the first half being dominated by what I took to be Cuba’s famous crumbling buildings. Incidentally, the only structure in Havana that didn’t seem to be on the verge of collapse when I visited in 2019 appeared to be the dominating edifice that formed the government buildings. Fidel somehow found the cash for that, hmmm?

Graham Greene was undoubtedly a hugely talented writer. However, I was left with the lingering doubt that his works are creations that are better read than watched. That may indeed be a form of blasphemy but observing and listening to comments by last night’s theatregoers, I can’t help thinking that quite a few might well agree with me.