Across the Salish Sea, the picturesque village of Chemainus is home to 50+ murals adorning the shops and buildings as well as the renowned Chemainus Theatre. Now in its 30th season, the Chemainus Theatre Festival presents Jeeves At Sea until June 2nd.
Setting sail with a shipload of frivolous hijinks, Jeeves At Sea is adapted by Margaret Raether from the works of P.G. Wodehouse. Her fourth adaptation of the Jeeves & Wooster stories, the playwright perfectly captures the dialogue and personalities of the scatterbrained Bertie Wooster and his smart and savvy valet Jeeves, who must regularly come to Bertie’s rescue after he and his friends have gotten into another hairbrained dilemma.

The great Bernard Cuffling, in his fourth outing as Jeeves, perfectly captures the stiff-upper-lip efficiency needed to wrangle the wild and high-spirited Wooster, played by Brett Harris. Polar opposites in demeanor Jeeves and Wooster and Cuffling and Harris create a perfect balance between chaos and tranquility. However, adding in other friends and acquaintances threatens to throw off this balance. On the yacht, Circe, moored at Monaco, Wooster (and Jeeves) are guests of Lady Stella Vanderley – played with glamour and grace by Tiana Jung. Lady Vanderley has her own companion/chaperone Miss Minerva Pilbeam – played by Erin Ormond – who may or may not have a dalliance with Jeeves.
Also along for the holiday, another foolish friend, Sir Percival “Crumpet” Crumpworth is played by Antony Knight, who does double duty playing Crumpet’s twin brother. Starting off the action the morning-after-the-night-before, whatever Wooster and Crumpet got up to on shore is only recalled through a gin-soaked haze. Enter Ian Farthing’s Count Otto von Dietrichstein, who could throw a spanner into the normally idle-lives of these Bright Young Things and their companions, resulting in a hilarious two-acts of sharp, witty dialogue, slapstick performances with just a perfect amount of zealous overacting and through it all, while the other’s are ‘at sea’ Bernard Cuffling’s floats methodically along as the indefatigable Jeeves.

A small but mighty creative team with Director Mark Dumez guiding the ship create this well-crafted, quick and energetic production. Hans Saefkow, Set Designer of the yacht’s excellent replica aft-deck. Costume Designer Crystal Hanson creations bring back the glamour and dapper designs of the 1920s. Fight Director Simon Fon carefully choreographs to suit the characters nature. Rebekah Johnson, Lighting Designer and Sound Designers Mark Dumex and Kraig Wayne create the atmosphere while Stage Manager Bonni Baynton and Assistant Delaney Small keep the chaos backstage running smoothly for those of us out front to enjoy.
Well worth the excursion, Jeeves At Sea is onstage at Chemainus Theatre Festival, 9737 Chemainus Rd, Chemainus, BC, until June 2, 2024. Find tickets online for theatre-only or packages for theatre & dinner in the Playbill Dining Room at chemainustheatrefestival.ca