Famously, Joe Orton’s What The Butler Saw caused quite a stir when it first premiered in the late 1960’s, shortly after the playwright was brutally murdered by his lover in their London flat. London Classic Theatre have revived Orton’s final farce in a production which is currently at Theatre Royal Windsor as part of a tour.
Of course, much has changed in society since the play was first performed, and it falls to director Michael Cabot to find a way to present What The Butler Saw, with it’s outlandish and farcical plot, alongside it’s darkly satirical undertones.
Set in the office of psychiatrist Dr. Prentice, the action unfolds at an unrelenting pace covering mistaken identities, gender swaps and increasingly absurd situations. Having tried to seduce his new secretary, Geraldine Barclay, chaos ensues when Mrs. Prentice (Holly Smith) returns home early, having been involved in her own tryst with a page boy, Nicholas Beckett at the Station Hotel.
These marital problems might easily have been resolved if it were not for the arrival of a government inspector, Dr. Rance who succeeds in escalating the situation far beyond where even the greatest lovers of farce could expect.
At the time, Orton’s play was seen as a critique of the establishment while poking fun at the sexual and moral landscape of 1960’s Britain. That landscape has changed considerably, and suddenly conversations about sex and gender don’t seem like the clear-cut comic fodder they were in Orton’s day.
What we see is a What The Butler Saw that hasn’t aged particularly well, and in the two hour run time it becomes difficult for the audience to see this as the classic piece of theatre it is. The glib references to sexual assault, and the definitions of ‘male’ and ‘female’ are so diametrically opposed to today’s values, that this comedy becomes uncomfortable viewing.
The production currently touring and at Theatre Royal Windsor does its best to make a dated script feel fresh.  The cast do well with the fast-paced dialogue and complex character shifts, Jack Lord as Dr. Rance is particularly adept at this, especially in the character’s longer and impassioned diatribes. Alana Jackson does a good job of showing Miss Barclay’s vulnerability and John Dorney provides good comic moments as Dr. Prentice. Alex Cardall does a remarkable job as Nicholas Beckett, treading a fine line between hero and villain of the piece.
Bek Palmer’s set design reflects Orton’s original vision, and everything has a suitably 1960’s psychedelic feel to it. The staging on the whole enhances the play’s more outrageous moments and keeps it feeling like the comedy it’s supposed to be.
This production of What The Butler Saw faces the same challenges that all new productions of it also face, along with revivals of other classic theatre pieces of a similar ilk. Modern audiences will react differently to these themes of sexual politics and that results in a lot of the humour being lost.
What The Butler Saw is at Theatre Royal Windsor until 11th May, further tour dates can be found here.
