Dr. Strangelove

(seen at the afternoon preview performance on 17th October 2024)

The monkey remembers being stunned once, reading comedy actor Ade Edmondson’s thoughts on his breakthrough “The Young Ones” years later. Edmondson stated that the anarchic energy of the 1980s was now “very, very slow,” rendering the hit comedy almost unwatchable. More years later the monkey rewatched this teen favourite... Edmondson was right.

For the record, the monkey has never seen “Dr Strangelove” the movie, and can only judge on what it saw here. Sadly, it feels this Armando Iannucci / Sean Foley adaptation has exactly the same problem. 

While the on-stage performers’ energy is manic, the underlying script is incredibly slow and repetitive. The once common word play of repeating a single phrase endlessly was abandoned as tedious many years ago. It is small wonder the couple next to the monkey left at the interval, after the man spent most of the first half asleep.

Actually, they missed out, because the second half is substantially better for the most part. The race to stop all-out nuclear war adds tension and Hildegard Bechtler’s bomber set is really rather good (if not sat in the front 3 rows where you are not going to see it so well).

Steve Coogan turns in a masterpiece night of multiple characters. He could (for decency’s sake) drop the Nazi salutes, but his wonderfully correct Captain Mandrake, Reaganesque President Muffley, amusing Major TJ Kong and devious Dr Strangelove himself are a compelling reason to buy a ticket.

There are other equally fun performances. Giles Terera uses both acting and vocal skills to prime effect as relative voice of reason General Turgidson. By contrast, John Hopkins as General Ripper represents all that is mad about the American army, as well as a major threat to vending machines everywhere.

Ben Turner as Colonel Bat Guano (family name) is a fine match for Coogan in their scene together, while Tony Jayawardena earns his fish as Russian Ambassador Bakov and Penny Ashmore brings the house and curtain down as Vera Lynn.

That the whole does not quite live up to Lizzi Gee’s fabulously nutty opening is a disappointment. Times change and, while this show is relevant to our current global feel of unease, the magnitude is very different.

This does capture the contrast, but, rather like “The Man In The White Suit” – another stage adaptation which proved to have aged too far for modern tastes, it is a case of fine performances in search of quicker material.