What The Butler Saw Theatre Breaks

What The Butler Saw

Omid Djalili returned to the West End stage to star as Dr Rance in Joe Orton’s comedy What The Butler Saw directed by Sean Foley.

The production at the Vaudeville Theatre was for a strictly limited season and closed on 28th July 2012

Check out what is now on at the Vaudeville Theatre

What The Butler Saw is an insanely funny, full-throttle comedy. Hysterical one-liners and outrageous twists collide, as the characters lose the plot, their wits, and their clothes. When psychoanalyst Dr Prentice instructs his new secretary to undress, little does he expect to be interrupted by his wife, her blackmailing lover, a meddling government inspector and an inquisitive policeman. But hiding a naked woman is the least of his worries, as libidos run riot, identities are swapped and social decorum is buried.

What the Butler Saw Cast List

As well as Omid Djalili as Dr Rance, Tim McInnery will star as Dr Prentice, Samantha Bond as Mrs Prentice and Georgia Moffat as Geraldine Barclay.

Omid Djalili is an award-winning British-Iranian actor/comedian. Not only acclaimed as one of Britain’s funniest stand-up comedians, he has also featured in films including The Mummy, Gladiator, Spy Game, Mean Machine, Modigliani, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Casanova, Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World’s End, The Love Guru, The Infidel and Sex and the City 2.   On television, his credits include Small Potatoes, Dinutopia, Whoopi and The Omid Djalili Show.  His current sell-out UK Tour finishes on 25 February at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Sean Foley directed the current West End hit production, The Ladykillers.  He co-founded the Right Size, creating over ten original comedies for the theatre, including the Olivier Award-winning The Play What I Wrote.  Last year, he directed Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon in his own adaptation of Francis Veber’s The Painkiller at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast.  WHAT THE BUTLER SAW will be designed by Alice Power, with lighting by Johanna Town, composition and sound by Ben and Max Ringham, and casting by Anne Vosser.

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Welcome to the madhouse, as Joe Orton’s legendary 1967 comedy opens at the Vaudeville Theatre this spring. Starring Omid Djalili, What The Butler Saw is an insanely funny, full-throttle tour de farce. Hysterical one liners and outrageous twists collide, as the characters loose the plot, their wits, and their clothes.

When psychoanalyst Dr Prentice instructs his new secretary to undress, little does he expect to be interrupted by his wife, her blackmailing lover, a meddling government inspector and an inquisitive policeman. But hiding a naked woman is the least of his worries, as libidos run riot, identities are swapped and social decorum is buried. Madness and mayhem mock morality, and laughter reigns supreme.  What the Butler Saw is the last and arguably the finest work of one of this nation’s most celebrated playwrights.

A gloriously witty and shockingly hilarious comedy, you’d be mad to miss it!

Vaudeville Theatre Information

The original theatre on this site was designed by C J Phipps and opened on 16 April 1870. The theatre then closed on 7 November 1925 when the interior was completely reconstructed to designs by Robert Atkins – the auditorium was changed from a horseshoe shape to the current rectangle shape – reopening on 23 February 1926. Small wood-panelled foyer with ornate cream and gold ceiling.
Address: Strand London WC2R 0NH
Facilities – Limited Air conditioning
Bars: 3: Foyer, Dress Circle and Upper Circle.
For Sale: Ice Cream, confectionery and programmes
Toilets: Stalls: Ladies and Gents. Dress Circle: Gents. Upper Circle: Ladies and Gents
Guide Dogs welcome
Access:
Nearest Tube: Charing Cross
Taxis: You should be able to hail a taxi outside the theatre but there is a rank down at Charing Cross Station
Buses: 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 68, 7A, 91, 139, 176
Parking: Westminter City Council car park at Spring Gardens (Trafalgar Square). NCP at Drury Lane.

Nearby Hotels for What the Butler Saw Theatre Breaks

There is a great selection of hotels nearby – just use your distance filter on the left hand side of the booking process to control how far you would like to be. At 8 miles you can pretty much pick any hotel in London. 2 to 2.5 miles will restrict your choice to zone one (an easy tube ride away) but if you just want a walk you can limit the filter right down to what you may be able to walk.

But to help, those in sight are the 3* Strand Palace Hotel, the 4 star Guoman Charing Cross and the 5* Savoy – all smashing hotels for theatre breaks.