Dr Strangelove @ Noël Coward Theatre…

Short review: Dr No. 

Longer review: Once known as 'the Peter Sellers of the 90s’ by absolutely nobody, Steve Coogan has finally stepped into that late comic legend's shoes. Like Sellers, he has taken on multiple roles in Dr Strangelove, a brand-new stage play adapted from Stanley Kubrick's Oscar-nominated 1964 Cold War nuclear Armageddon satire. The whole kit and caboodle is written by Armando lannucci, who first co-created Alan Partridge with Coogan, over 30 years ago. 

So Stuart and I ventured out last night to the Noel Coward theatre in London’s glitzy West End to see how the gang all got on. 

Like last night’s Northern Lights did the show light up the sky, or like the English football team trying out a new formation at Wembley, did it crash and burn?

Well, at best it raised the odd smile. At worst, it was boring as hell - surely a crime for any comedy. So, yeah, basically it bombed. 

The cast were all present and correct; chipper British captain, crazy American general with the launch codes, inept US President, idiotic Soviet leader, nutty USAF pilot. But cliched buffoonery reigned.

Two characters repeated saying “Hello?” to each other on the phone for minutes on end. So, yeah that. 

I’m not saying it’s was a mess, but even a high grade nuclear bomb might hesitate to explode on this particular West End stage for fear of being upstaged. 

A waste of, what undoubted is, great talent. 

⭐️⭐️