Cast
Simon Callow
Patrick Ryecart

Review
Time Out

J.P Donleavy's adaptation of his own novel is a curious concoction and a shambolic one. From our first encounter with the diabolic Beefy and his meek aristo friend, Balthazar, we are treated to a large dose of  "Ooh, aren't the upper classes so amusing, so eccentric" with Simon Callow  so lording it over all, especially the cowering Patrick Ryecart, that his periods of absence in the second half seem a foolish omission. Maybe some find this sort of empty in-joke humour side-breaking. I found it repetitive and dull. But what finally kills the thing are its pretensions to seriousness as the cruel world outside the cloisters of Trinity gradually envelops the pair in misfortune  and, supposedly, tragedy. Can either Mr Daniels, who directed, or Mr Donleavy, who wrote, really expect a drop of pity for these pampered peacocks? In this production B stands for Boring.

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"These days I seem to see more of Mr Callow's genitals than I do of my own"