Review

Edwardian gentleman thief A J Raffles could not have found a more perfect piece for his return: a theatre of the right period, dressed with the utmost style and a company of actors totally entering into the spirit of the piece and the period. Among revivals, Graham Greene’s play, based somewhat loosely on E W Horning’s characters in The Amateur Cracksman, is rare. It has only been done twice before, by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975 and later by the Oxford Playhouse.

This is a light-hearted period piece, but so full of little twists and turns and tongue-in-cheek remarks it demands full attention. It also, openly and without labouring any points, presents several characters as gay, including Raffles. When, in the plot-setting Act One, young Lord Alfred Douglas (Benedick Bates) and Raffles’ faithful companion, Bunny (Adrian Ross-Magenty), discuss the hero’s cricket success, Bunny claims “He could bat as well as he could bowl”, which prompts his friend to ask if he suspects Raffles has a secret interest in women. "Certainly not, he has never even looked at a woman," bats back Bunny. No sooner has the hero-worshipper from schooldays expressed his devotion and the fact that “there is no fun in crime without Raffles,” than the hero of the piece, presumed dead, enters the scene, ready for a spot of fun.

Lord Alfred, longing for his exiled lover, Oscar Wilde, suggests revenge on his father, the Marquess of Queensbury, who has stopped his allowance. With this challenge Raffles and Bunny set out to rob the family country home in Hertfordshire during a party attended by a royal guest, who for reasons of Mama's disapproval poses as plain Mr Portland (Frederick Jaeger). Fiction and fact mix in an exhilarating chain of events as the comedy moves back to its original scene, Raffles' chambers in Albany,Piccadilly.

A true ensemble piece, The Return of A J Raffles is performed by a cast of ten, directed by Palace Theatre assistant director Deborah Shaw, in a way that keeps the plot and play moving and achieving the comedic aspect through straight to character play, blissfully avoiding any farcical over-play. The delight lies partly in the Englishness of an era and society that knew  and accepted the rules by which a gentleman played, especially if at one point he had the good sense to secure the ashes for England against Australia.

Brian Protheroe was a little weak in voice on the first night. The repartee between Bates and Ross-Magenty, as Lord Alfred Douglas and Bunny, was excellent, and Jaeger every bit the Royal Bertie in disguise. John McMurray's stylish set designs are a complement to the Palace, a joy for the audience and well worth two intervals for major scene changes.