Gambler, journalist, fervent alcoholic and four-times married Jeffrey Bernard wrote the “Low Life” column for the Spectator magazine chronicling Soho life as well as offering a very personal philosophy on vodka, women and race-courses.
From this, Keith Waterhouse has brilliantly constructed a play (the title being the euphemism used by the Spectator when Bernard was incapable of writing his column) which is set in the saloon bar of Bernard’s favourite Soho pub, the Coach and Horses.
Having passed out in the lavatory, Bernard awakes in the early hours of the morning to find himself alone and in the dark. Unable to contact the landlord he is resigned to spending the rest of the night with a bottle of vodka and an endless chain of cigarettes narrating a story of hilarious anecdotes and witty reminiscences which are enacted by two actors and two actresses who bring to life the various characters who populate Jeff’s world. The play enjoyed a hugely successful run at the Apollo Theatre, London and had a similarly successful revival with the original Jeffrey, Peter O’Toole, at the Old Vic for a strictly limited run in 1999
Winner of the 1990 Evening Standard Theatre Award for ‘Best Comedy’
CAST
- Jeffrey Bernard – Dick Sails
- Poets, Hacks, Wives, Girlfriends, Thespians, Publicans, Sinners, Policemen, Waiters, Friends, Neighbours, Jockeys, Trainers, Bores, Artists, Doctors, Nurses, Customs & Excise Officials, Magistrate, Drunks, Tarts played by
- Hugh Everett
- Lesley Hornsby
- Mike Shaw
- Val Watkinson
