This Soho pub is putting on a ‘problematic’ show about a drunkard
The Coach and Horses in Soho is one of central London’s most storied boozers. It was a favourite of Peter O’Toole, who famously once got so drunk he climbed onto the roof and refused to get down until he was served more booze. The late landlord from the 1980s heyday, Norman Balon, earned the nickname the “rudest landlord in London” for his rude banter and stern manner.
Another of the stories about the pub is that the journalist Jeffrey Bernard once got locked in the pub overnight because he fell asleep in the toilet.
The story of Bernard is the conceit at the heart of an immersive theatre show being staged at the pub this March. The play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell takes as its backdrop the legendary man, and features stories from across his life, from the pub and further afield, touching on gambling, drinking, “illegal cat races” and a life of non-stop carousing.
Bernard, as described by show material, was a “notorious and feckless Soho face” a journalist who “doesn’t know the meaning of a deadline” and spent his days drinking rather than writing. He went through four marriages but the play begins at the point where Bernard is beginning to feel jaded with his hedonistic lifestyle.
The show “regales us with stories of busted bookies, failed marriages, illegal cat-racing and introduces us to his favourite pub trick involving a pint glass, match-box and a raw egg” and is adapted by James Hillier from the critically acclaimed West End play by Keith Waterhouse.
Robert Bathurst plays Jeffrey Bernard from 1 March for a limited run until 23 March on various evenings. The full programme is available at jeffreyplay.com.
Bathurst said of the production: “Perfect. A play about being stuck in a pub in Soho, played to an audience stuck in a pub in Soho. Warning: this show contains references to Smoking, Gambling, Alcohol and Sex. Most problematic of all, it also contains Humour.”
Amid challenging times for Soho nightlife when residential complaints are stopping venues from opening late, Waterhouse’s play is a much-needed celebration of the hedonistic side of the capital’s historic nightlife hub.