Review: Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson

Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson

Menier Chocolate Factory, London

By Sarah Hemming
Published: May 2 2006 17:28

With broken metatarsals and manager succession chaos throwing England’s bid for World Cup glory into disarray before the team has even set foot in Germany, the Chocolate Factory has come to the rescue with a feel-good play about a time when England really did win a world cup. Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson takes us back to that bleary early morning in 2003 when the golden boot of England’s fly-half made a last-minute drop goal that confounded the Australian rugby team and put England, briefly, on top of the world.

Chris England’s play, sadly, does not feature the real Mr Wilkinson. Instead, it uses that occasion to explore the power struggles in a provincial rugby club. It is a ridiculous play, yet still a very enjoyable one.

We are in the drab clubhouse of a struggling rugby club, where the only trophy, won by the women’s team, has not been put on display because it would look lonely. Present are Dave, the club manager, and a journalist (played by the author) swigging bad white wine and hoping to observe the World Cup atmosphere in a typical rugby club bar. Only there is no atmosphere, because nobody has turned up. Could this have anything to do with the impending election to choose the next club manager? Could Dave’s rival, who happens to be Australian, have embarked on a dirty tricks campaign?

Well of course he could, and as the game progresses, the off-screen shenanigans become progressively more extreme and unlikely. Dave (a lugubrious Norman Pace) and Matt (an outrageous but funny Michael Beckley) struggle for supremacy in a plot that takes in sex- scandal blackmail, a life- threatening illness, an off- stage birth, lies, deception and a thief-turned-fly-half who just happens to score whenever Jonny does.

It is very silly and stuffed with clichés, and the character definition could be written on a beer mat. But it is also absurdly funny, bristles with delightful one-liners (“I’m lactose-intolerant” claims Nigel, pouring lager on a bowl of organic muesli) and is delivered with snap and crackle in Jonathan Lewis’s upbeat production. Anyone seeking intellectual comedy should stay away, but this cheerful nonsense might just provide some consolation should the unthinkable happen, and England not quite win the world cup. êêêê

Tel 20 7907 7060

	FT.com
News Features Articles Archive Info Biography Filmography Discography Gigs and Tours Gallery Heartbreak High The Secret Life of Us Miscellaneous Others Links Contact	Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson Menier Chocolate Factory, London By Sarah Hemming Published: May 2 2006 17:28 With broken metatarsals and manager succession chaos throwing England’s bid for World Cup glory into disarray before the team has even set foot in Germany, the Chocolate Factory has come to the rescue with a feel-good play about a time when England really did win a world cup. Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson takes us back to that bleary early morning in 2003 when the golden boot of England’s fly-half made a last-minute drop goal that confounded the Australian rugby team and put England, briefly, on top of the world. Chris England’s play, sadly, does not feature the real Mr Wilkinson. Instead, it uses that occasion to explore the power struggles in a provincial rugby club. It is a ridiculous play, yet still a very enjoyable one. We are in the drab clubhouse of a struggling rugby club, where the only trophy, won by the women’s team, has not been put on display because it would look lonely. Present are Dave, the club manager, and a journalist (played by the author) swigging bad white wine and hoping to observe the World Cup atmosphere in a typical rugby club bar. Only there is no atmosphere, because nobody has turned up. Could this have anything to do with the impending election to choose the next club manager? Could Dave’s rival, who happens to be Australian, have embarked on a dirty tricks campaign? Well of course he could, and as the game progresses, the off-screen shenanigans become progressively more extreme and unlikely. Dave (a lugubrious Norman Pace) and Matt (an outrageous but funny Michael Beckley) struggle for supremacy in a plot that takes in sex- scandal blackmail, a life- threatening illness, an off- stage birth, lies, deception and a thief-turned-fly-half who just happens to score whenever Jonny does. It is very silly and stuffed with clichés, and the character definition could be written on a beer mat. But it is also absurdly funny, bristles with delightful one-liners (“I’m lactose-intolerant” claims Nigel, pouring lager on a bowl of organic muesli) and is delivered with snap and crackle in Jonathan Lewis’s upbeat production. Anyone seeking intellectual comedy should stay away, but this cheerful nonsense might just provide some consolation should the unthinkable happen, and England not quite win the world cup. êêêê Tel 20 7907 7060