One Man, Two Guvnors. By Richard Bean, adapted from Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. Songs and music by Grant Olding. Directed by Chris Baldock. Canberra Repertory Society. Theatre 3. Ellery Crescent, Acton. November 15 (preview) to December 2. canberrarep.org.au.or 02 6257 1950 (weekdays 10am to 4pm).
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In his latest role, actor Arran McKenna plays a character he calls "an idiot geezer - just a fool."
He plays out-of-work skiffle player Francis Henshaw. Francis works - separately - for two men. His "guvnors" are British boarding school toff Stanley Stubbers (Patrick Galen-Mules) and gangster Roscoe Crabbe - who's really Roscoe's twin sister Rachel (Meaghan Stewart) in disguise. Roscoe was killed by Rachel's boyfriend - who, it just so happens, is Stanley.
Francis has to juggle his time between his two employers and keep them from meeting so neither will know he's also working for the other. This can become tricky - like when he's expected to serve lunch to both at the same time.
"You try to keep the secret as you go," McKenna says of playing the role.
"There are lies compounded on lies ... and some close shaves."
And that's only the beginning of the complications in Richard Bean's 2011 comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, adapted from Carlo Goldoni's 1743 commedia dell'arte-style Servant of Two Masters.
Another character is local mobster Charlie the Duck (Paul Sweeney) who has arranged for his daughter Pauline (Holly Ross) to become engaged to "Roscoe" - but she is in love with amateur actor Alan Dangle (Brenton Cleaves).
With this comes still more complications - but audiences can discover the particulars for themselves.
One Man, Two Guvnors is set in London in the 1960s.
"It's the Beatles era," McKenna says.
"Part of the show is an onstage skiffle band ... They're going to play before the show and at interval," he says.
"They've got some good songs that were written for the play itself."
They're in early 1960s Beatles style, in keeping with the period.
McKenna says there's plenty of slapstick, prop work and Carry On-style innuendo - "some quite cheeky" - but it's all done with a playful sense of humour.
There's also an improvisational element in playing Francis, which he's found a bit of a challenge - though one he's growing more comfortable with ("the open rehearsal was really, really great for that") and some singing.
And, he says, "You have to keep the energy up - it's a very energetic role."
"It's not a very deep play," he says - but then, it doesn't seem to try to be. It's an international hit.
McKenna, 39, is a native Canberran who's been acting for three decades. His first role, at the age of nine at Stagecoach acting school in Canbera, was an echidna. Then at 12 he appeared in the Queanbeyan Players' The Sand Fairy. He continued with drama at Marist College, where he appeared in musicals including Little Shop of Horrors , How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Philo's West Side Story (during the latter he met Felicity Quirk, to whom he is now married).
He did plays with Free-Rain, National University Theatre Society (NUTS) at ANU and was part of a group of creative collaborators who called themselves The Masters of Space and Time, performing in and helping to develop their shows.
For Rep, his first show was Arcadia (2014), followed by Noises Off (2016). Now he's playing the lead in a comedy that promises to test his timing and performance skills, as well as those of all the cast.
There's one other big challenge as the lead, he says: "I've got to win the audience over ... I'm trying not to think about that."
