Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell but Robert Bathurst was well enough to stagger into the role at Soho’s iconic Coach & Horses, writes Michael Holland.
This is Keith Waterhouse’s 1989 play that was written and performed while the louche journalist, drunk and raconteur was still alive to see it, and is once again revived for this Soho run in the pub where Jeffrey Bernard spent far too much of his time.
Bernard wrote his ‘Low Life’ column in The Spectator – a counter to the magazine’s ‘High Life’ column by Taki. Bernard’s was pretty much an early blog on a life spent in pubs, betting offices and racetracks. The Coach & Horses being a mainstay of his drinking time.
‘Jeffrey’ arrived at 4am, stumbling into the bar, explaining that he’d been locked in the ‘bog’ after not hearing Norman’s cry of ‘Last orders, gents, please’, and promptly poured himself a vodka.
This opened the door to many more vodkas and twice as many anecdotes of his un-illustrious past that began with him being born unwell and going on to disappointing his mother by not becoming a naval officer.
A succession of humdrum jobs followed until he fell into journalism after meeting a kindred spirit who just happened to run a leading magazine. We are then led, via an inordinate amount of alcohol and comedy, through four failed marriages, a multitude of days off sick, good bets and bad bets, right up until the illness that finally finished him off.
On that journey, Bathurst stalked the Coach & Horses bar, fag in hand, topping up on his travels past the vodka optic as he made his way around the pub and its customers, gradually getting drunker and drunker while delivering the delicious lines of Keith Waterhouse in a monologue that, over the hour, almost tempts you in to wanting to become an inebriated wastrel. The comedic highs of his life seemed to far outweigh the lows – A dangerous cocktail created from a blend of paying the consequences of ignoring responsibility while under the influence of drink.
Many references in this now legendary play from the late 80s fly way over most of the younger audience members’ heads, but did they need to know who Lester Piggott was to enjoy this wonderful piece of true-life theatre? I think not. There is so much more to be had in Waterhouse’s words, and the appreciation of those in attendance proved that. An audience made up of the paying public and Coach & Horses regulars who had managed to stay behind at chucking out time with a knowing wink to the staff who had to set up for the play. Regulars who fit into that distinct Soho vibe by dressing in attire that makes them stand out from those of us who do not dwell overlong in the confines of W1.
Enjoy this wonderful piece of work in its natural habitat.
Coach & Horses, 29 Greek St, London W1D 5DH
12/13/14/19/20/21 November
Two performances each day at 8pm & 10pm.
Tickets: www.jeffreyplay.com
Running time 55mins (no interval)
