Boeing Boeing

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Comedy closed 5 January 2008

Comedy Theatre Panton Street, London

A major revival of Marc Camoletti's comedy Boeing-Boeing in London directed by Matthew Warchus.

"The funniest show in town" The Financial Times

In Boeing Boeing Bernard thought he could easily cope with his three air hostess fiancees - after all he lived close to the Orly Airport in Paris and so it was just a question of plane timetables and his reliable maid who never forgot to change the photographs in the bedroom. But then, when the new 'Super' Boeing plane - with its faster flights - takes over he is landed with a triple problem. To add to the problem his old school friend Robert arrives unexpectedly and joins the jet set in a whirl of confusion and matchmaking.

"An evening such sheer, silly, comic pleasure... It works like a comic dream"
The London Evening Standard

"Normally it works out perfectly straightforwardly. Two days Gloria, two days Gabriella, and two days Gretchen. I'll show you how it works. Now then, Gretchen gets in from Stockholm this evening; at the same time, Gabriella, who has to fly out this afternoon, gets to Cairo, and Gloria will already be between New York and San Francisco - you see the work I have to do? Pure mathematics. Everything organised, regulated and working to the precise second. The earth revolves on its axis and my fiancees fly above the earth. One this way. One that. One towards the sun. One towards the moon. And eventually they all, in turn, come home to me. No alarms, no surprises. It's geometrical, so exact as to be almost poetic. And here I sit in the middle - the perfect example of polygamous despotism. Perfectly satisfied and healthy too. I don't just change my fiancees, I change my diet as well. It's like living in a restaurant. So there's no chance of ever getting bored. Either at table, or in bed. It's ideal." - Bernard described to his friend Robert just how his 'system' works in Boeing Boeing.

"By many an air mile, the funniest show on the London Stage" The Daily Telegraph

But Gloria, the American Stewardess, tells Bernard some 'good news': "You know, darling, I'm really very happy. I'm happy because I think they're going to transfer me to a new machine. Brand new. The Super-Boeing. It's just fantastic. Delta wings and four Rolls-Royce turbo-jets. And do you know, darling, each jet has a thrust of nineteen thousand pounds. It'll make the journey so much faster, darling. So I'll be here more often and we can spend more time together..."

"Matthew Warchus's loving production - achieves a kind of delirium" The Guardian

"Who would have thought that an old French farce about a philanderer would not just take off, but go sky-high in the West End of 2007? Boeing Boeing, first seen in London more than 40 years ago has become comic glory in Matthew Warchus's perpetual motion, perpetually funny production." The Observer

"Boeing-Boeing will have you reaching for your hankie, to mop up the tears of hysterical laughter... Matthew Warchus's jet-propelled production soars... Fasten your seatbelts for the most deliriously funny flight of your life" The Mail on Sunday

Boeing Boeing originally opened at The Apollo Theatre in London's West End in February 1962 where it went on to enjoy record breaking five year run. Boeing Boeing transferred to Broadway, but only managed a short three week run, although it was made into a film starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis in 1965.

In BoeingBoeing Adrian Dunbar plays the central role of 'Bernard'; Neil Stuke plays the role of 'Robert', Bernard's friend, who arrives unexpectedly to stay for a few days while he is in Paris; and Patricia Hodge plays 'Bertha' the maid who tries to keep things organised - with the right food prepared for the right Air Stewardess, and the right photos on display!

Boeing-Boeing was Marc Camoletti's first great British success. The original London West End production of Boeing Boeing was a smash hit at the Apollo Theatre where it run for seven years and over 2000 performances. In 1991, it was listed in the Guiness Book of Records as the most performed French play throughout the world. A later play by Marc Camoletti, Don't Dress For Dinner, also ran for seven years in London's West End, transferring from the Apollo Theatre to the Duchess Theatre. A French citizen, born in Geneva in 1923 with Italian family origins, Marc Camoletti was also a talented artist. He had five major exhibitions in Paris and the provinces and many of his painting sold to private collectors. His theatre career got of to a flying start when, in 1958, three of his plays were presented simultaneously in paris, the first, La Bonne Anna, running for 1300 performances. In a long theatrical career, Marc Camoletti gained worldwide acclaim through the multitude of productions of his plays in numerous languages in some 55 countries.In Paris alone 18 of his plays have enjoyed around 20,000 performances in all. An Associate of the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts, Marc Camoletti became a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur - one of France's highest honours. He died in 2003.