Come On, Jeeves

Come On, Jeeves is a comedic play co-written by P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. The play was written in the summer of 1952, and toured the English provinces in the summer of 1954. Wodehouse adapted the play into the novel Ring for Jeeves, which was first published in April 1953, a year before the play reached production.^[1] Come On, Jeeves is still occasionally produced and was presented as recently as December 2017.^[2]

In the play, the young aristocrat Bill, Lord Towcester, cannot afford to maintain his large country house. He tries to solve his financial problems with the help of his resourceful butler, Jeeves.

Plot

The plot of the play is largely the same as that of the novel Ring for Jeeves. Some notable differences are:

• The name "Towcester" is changed to "Rowcester" in the UK edition of the novel.
• In the play, Mrs. Spottsworth has never met Captain Biggar or Bill before. In the novel, she already knew them both before going to the abbey. Furthermore, Jill is not related to the chief constable in the play, who is named Colonel Blagden.
• Unlike in the novel, it is stated in the play that Monica is in her thirties, Rory is in his forties, Jill is in her early twenties, and Mrs. Spottsworth is in her early to mid-forties.
• The physical descriptions of Jeeves given in the play and novel are similar though not identical: the play describes Jeeves as "a man in his middle forties of impressive dignity"^[3], whereas the novel states he is "tall and dark and impressive" with a "finely chiselled" face, and resembles "a youngish High Priest of some refined and dignified religion".^[4]
• Intending to steal back Captain Biggar's ticket while the lights are out, Jeeves and Bill mistakenly tussle with each other, each thinking the other is Captain Bigger.
• In the play, Jeeves says to Captain Biggar that he was once a batman and his dugout was blown up while he was passing the summer pudding. Bill then says "And the mess was a mess, ha-ha!"^[5] suggesting that Jeeves was in a mess hall. It is unclear how much of this story is true since Jeeves and Bill are trying to mislead Captain Biggar. In the novel, Jeeves merely says to Bill that he dabbled in World War I to a certain extent.
• In the play, Jeeves and Bill both dress up as the purported ghost of Towcester Abbey, Lady Agatha. They wear tall conical hats, farthingales and wimples, and Jeeves's face and arms are described as being the colour of chalk. In the novel, Bill refuses to wear women's clothing, and Jeeves, believing that Mrs. Spottsworth would scream and rouse the household if she saw any ghost, dismisses the idea.
• In the play, Bill and Jill cheer "Come on, Ballymore!" for the horse Ballymore in The Derby^[6]; Jeeves joins in the cheer, albeit reservedly, in the novel.

Setting

All the action of the play occurs in the living room at Towcester Abbey. There are three acts, set respectively in late afternoon in June, the same evening after dinner, and in the afternoon the following day.^[7]

Publication history

The play was published in print in script form, subtitled "A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts", by Evans Brothers in 1956. The script is preceded by an author's note by Wodehouse, in which he conveys his esteem for Guy Bolton.^[8][9] The play, including the author's note, was also published by Methuen London in 1983 as part of a collection of Wodehouse's plays titled Four Plays, which also features the other three plays The Play's the Thing, Good Morning, Bill (which Wodehouse later adapted into the novel Doctor Sally), and Leave It To Psmith (adapted from the novel Leave It to Psmith).^[10]

References

Sources

• Wodehouse, Pelham Grenville (1983). Four Plays. Methuen London Ltd. ISBN 978-0413530202.
• McIlvaine, Eileen; Sherby, Louise S; Heineman, James H (1990). P.G. Wodehouse: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Checklist. New York: Heineman. ISBN 978-0-87008-125-5.