There’s a touch of Patrick Barlow’s long-running West End hit The 39 Steps in Lucy Bailey’s inventive take on Jules Verne’s story. Its hero, Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg, accepts a wager from members of his London club who refuse to believe that it is possible to circumnavigate the world in 80 days. Laura Eason’s adaptation is serviceable enough and faithful (it’s a sleigh that takes the travellers across the icy prairies, not the hot air balloon of the David Niven film version) but it lacks wit and there are times, particularly pre-interval, when this seems like a very plodding journey indeed.
Part of the problem is that neither script nor production make Robert Portal’s emotionally constipated Fogg in the slightest bit engaging. Would you warm to a man who sacks his valet for failing to serve a cup of tea at precisely the right temperature and simply throws a bagful of money at every transport problem that he encounters as he heads around the globe?
For a 21st-century audience this needs a far lighter touch and some merciless sending up of a particular kind of stuffy English upper-class entitlement and stiff upper lip stoicism.
Fortunately Anna Fleischle’s clever wooden design with its Heath Robinson influences has a madcap wit of its own and offers plenty of opportunities for Bailey’s invention. There is also an attractive performance from Simon Gregor whose understated clowning brings charm to Fogg’s servant, Passepartout, who merely longs for a quiet life (again this could be played up). There’s also great support from Tim Steed whose upstaging passport-stamping bureaucrat provides the biggest laughs of the evening. This is quite fun and perfectly pleasant but there are glimmers that it could have been so much more.
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At St James theatre, London, until 17 January. Box office: 0844-264 2140.
