• Review For Us
  • List Your Show
  • Advertising
  • Musicals
  • Plays
  • Ballet & Dance
  • Previews
  • First Look
Theatre Weekly
  • Home
  • News
    • West End
    • Off-West End
    • Regional & Tours
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Digital Theatre
  • Tickets
    • Discounts
    • Musicals
    • Plays
    • Opera
    • Dance
    • Concerts
  • VAULT Festival 2023
    • VAULT Previews
    • VAULT Reviews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer
No Result
View All Result
Theatre Weekly
  • Home
  • News
    • West End
    • Off-West End
    • Regional & Tours
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Digital Theatre
  • Tickets
    • Discounts
    • Musicals
    • Plays
    • Opera
    • Dance
    • Concerts
  • VAULT Festival 2023
    • VAULT Previews
    • VAULT Reviews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer
No Result
View All Result
Theatre Weekly
No Result
View All Result
Home Reviews
Laurie Davidson in Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre photo by Brinkhoff Moegenburg

Laurie Davidson in Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre photo by Brinkhoff Moegenburg

Review: Jack Absolute Flies Again at The National Theatre (Olivier)

by Greg Stewart
July 14, 2022
Reading Time: 4 mins read

If there’s one thing we could all use after the last couple years, it’s a jolly good laugh, and that’s something that Oliver Chris and Richard Bean’s Jack Absolute Flies Again serves up in spades.  Now open at the National Theatre, this restoration comedy (an adaptation of The Rivals), directed by Emily Burns, takes aim at everything, including itself!

It’s a fairly complex, bordering on farcical, plot that sees the Royal Air Force based out the country pile owned by Mrs Malaprop in the 1940’s.  Almost everyone has taken a fancy for someone else, but in order for any sort of romance to bloom, subterfuge, impersonation and misdirection are all required.

Given the title you’d be forgiven for assuming the story revolves around Jack Absolute, and to some extent it does, but there’s also plenty of sub-plots and the other characters all get a fair hearing.  It’s quite refreshing in some ways to have such an expansive cast, with so much character development, but that also may prove to be a double edged sword.

       

One thing is for sure, Jack Absolute Flies Again is hilarious; proper laugh out loud, trying to suppress a snort kind of laughter.  Some of the lines are so outrageous, you’ll still be giggling at them well into the interval.  Most of the comedy is very clever, and extremely well-written, there are a few jokes that are bit too obvious or overly constructed but you’ll probably still laugh.

Where things start to go awry is when Jack Absolute Flies Again starts not being a comedy.  It’s set during the war, there are difficult moments to explore, but this play tries to be too many things at once.  The result is a near-three-hour long show, and towards the end you start to realise you really can have too much of a good thing.

You mightalso like

Writers Peter Fellows Helen Kingston David Mumeni Isaac Tomiczek Manjinder Virk and director Oliver Chris

The fifth annual Platform Presents West End Gala is a night of ‘Theatrical Consequences’

Geraldine Alexander Tessa and Joe Bannister Will in Resilience. Photo by Marc Brenner.

First Look: The Contingency Plan at Sheffield Theatres

An incredible set from Mark Thompson sees the Olivier stage used to great effect, especially when the façade of the Malaprop house opens to reveal various rooms of its interior.  Also impressive are Jeff Sugg’s video designs, which without spoiling anything, give a real sense of the expanse of the open skies above.  The sound accompanying the video isn’t so great, and it becomes difficult to follow what’s actually happening during the dogfights taking place.

Caroline Quentin as Mrs Malaprop is pure gold, as a character prone to malapropism (see what they did there?) every utterance from Quentin results in uproarious laughter from the audience, it gets to the point where Quentin need only make an entrance and the guffaws start.

Laurie Davidson charms the audience like birds out the trees as Jack Absolute, another very funny role but one that also has real heart, and Davidson brings it all to the fore.  As mentioned, it’s a large cast and there’s not a fault to be found amongst them.

There’s a brief hiatus from the comedy for a big song and dance routine, wonderfully choregraphed by Lizzi Gee, and for this brief moment you could easily be at one of the big West End musicals, it’s fantastically done and fits that moment in the show to absolute perfection.

       

Jack Absolute Flies Again is proper good old-fashioned comedy, and will probably appeal more to generations who grew up in the heyday of this particular brand of humour.  This is a comedy that’s definitely worth seeing, even if it could have benefited from a little streamlining.

Jack Absolute Flies Again is currently booking at The National Theatre 

Jack Absolute Flies Again credit brinkhoff moegenburg

1 of 6
- +
caroline quentin mrs malaprop and kerry howard lucy in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg
caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg
james corrigan bob wingnut acres jordan metcalfe roy faulkland laurie davidson jack absolute akshay sharan bikram tony khattri in jack absolute flies again at the natio
kelvin fletcher dudley scunthorpe and caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg
natalie simpson lydia languish and laurie davidson jack absolute in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg
the set of jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg
ADVERTISEMENT

1. caroline quentin mrs malaprop and kerry howard lucy in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

caroline quentin mrs malaprop and kerry howard lucy in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

2. caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

3. james corrigan bob wingnut acres jordan metcalfe roy faulkland laurie davidson jack absolute akshay sharan bikram tony khattri in jack absolute flies again at the natio

james corrigan bob wingnut acres jordan metcalfe roy faulkland laurie davidson jack absolute akshay sharan bikram tony khattri in jack absolute flies again at the natio

4. kelvin fletcher dudley scunthorpe and caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

kelvin fletcher dudley scunthorpe and caroline quentin mrs malaprop in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

5. natalie simpson lydia languish and laurie davidson jack absolute in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

natalie simpson lydia languish and laurie davidson jack absolute in jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

6. the set of jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

the set of jack absolute flies again at the national theatre . photo by brinkhoff moegenburg

Greg Stewart

Greg Stewart

Greg is an award-winning writer with a huge passion for theatre. He has appeared on stage, as well as having directed several plays in his native Scotland. Greg is the founder and editor of Theatre Weekly

Related Articles

Writers Peter Fellows Helen Kingston David Mumeni Isaac Tomiczek Manjinder Virk and director Oliver Chris
News

The fifth annual Platform Presents West End Gala is a night of ‘Theatrical Consequences’

Geraldine Alexander Tessa and Joe Bannister Will in Resilience. Photo by Marc Brenner.
First Look

First Look: The Contingency Plan at Sheffield Theatres

Joe Bannister Will in rehearsals for On The Beach. Photo by Chris Saunders.
First Look

First Look: Steve Waters’ The Contingency Plan at Sheffield Theatres

The Contingency Plan Cast
News

Sheffield Theatres Announce Cast For Climate Emergency Double Bill – The Contingency Plan

London Theatre Week
News

London Theatre Week Returns With Almost 60 Shows Offering Tickets With Prices as Low as £15

Jack Absolute Flies Again at National Theatre
News

Peter Forbes joins the cast of Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre

Comments 1

  1. Pingback: National Theatre Live adds The Seagull, The Crucible and Othello to Winter Season for Cinema Broadcasts - Theatre Weekly
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram

At Theatre Weekly we give theatre a new audience. You'll find our theatre news, theatre reviews and theatre interviews are written from an audience point of view. Our great value London theatre tickets will get you the best deal for your theatre tickets.
Theatre Weekly, 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX
  • Join Our Community
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising

Recent News

42nd Street Tour Cast

Casting Announced for 42nd Street UK Tour

The Unicorn credit Geraint Lewis

Nina Productions Presents Sam Potter’s The Unicorn At The Arcola in June

© 2022 Theatre Weekly

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Tickets
  • Digital Theatre
  • News
    • West End
    • Off West End
    • Regional & Tours
    • Digital
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • VAULT Festival 2023
    • Vault Previews
    • VAULT Reviews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer

© 2022 Theatre Weekly