This hilarious tour-de-force by Robert Powell seemed to give us a glimpse of a time that has now passed. A time when journalists could get drunk and fail to turn in articles and no-one seemed to mind particularly. It was an evening of nostalgia for many in the audience.
The play takes place in a pub in Soho where Jeffery Bernard has managed to get locked in overnight and wakes up to find himself trapped. Unperturbed he begins helping himself to the spirits behind the bar and regales us with anecdotes and descriptions of the colourful characters he has met living a life of hard-drink, gambling and womanising.
Watching the play is like having the good fortune to sit with someone in the pub who has not only led a fascinating life but also has the skill to tell you about it in a witty and engaging fashion. Robert Powell was a surprisingly cheerful Jeffery Bernard, I think we were expecting a little bit more bitterness from the character but his performance was altogether more philosophical. He was assisted in telling his hilarious tales by a strong supporting cast who emerged in the pub, conjured by Jeffery's imagination and memories, as dozens of different characters each one different and engaging.
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