Around The World In 80 Days, theatre review: Scrapes and japes

This is a clever seasonal show as well as a good-natured one, says Henry Hitchings
Versatility: clockwise from top, Robert Portal, Eben Figueiredo, Lena Kaur and Simon Gregor
Simon Annand
Henry Hitchings7 December 2015

Jules Verne's classic adventure novel tends to be treated as nothing more than a slice of 19th-century derring-do, but Laura Eason’s adaptation reminds us that it also pokes fun at some of the cavalier excesses of British imperialism.

Phileas Fogg is a solitary English gent for whom precise timekeeping is a religion. An argument with other members of his Pall Mall club results in a huge wager that sends him as far afield as Calcutta, Yokohama and San Francisco — by rail, sea, elephant and sleigh. Accompanied by his newly appointed valet Passepartout (a clownish Simon Gregor), he gets into numerous scrapes. Eason’s script is charming rather than laugh-out-loud funny, and only these two characters feel satisfyingly developed.

Tony Gardner brings a welcome dryness to Inspector Fix, the Scotland Yard detective bent on thwarting Fogg’s efforts, but never seems more than a pantomime baddie. An ingenious design by recent Evening Standard Theatre Award winner Anna Fleischle isn’t fully exploited, and at times both atmosphere and comic rhythm are lacking.

But in the lead Robert Portal is every inch the starchy Victorian Englishman. Fogg’s eccentric yet unflappable manner makes him a sympathetic figure as the rest of the cast buzz round him — with Lena Kaur, Eben Figueiredo and the scene-stealing Tim Steed all displaying frenetic versatility. And there’s enough inventiveness from director Lucy Bailey to ensure this is a clever seasonal show as well as a good-natured one.

Until January 17, St James Theatre (0844 264 2140, stjamestheatre.co.uk)

The best Christmas shows in London

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