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Four Steve Coogans walk into a War Room...

Writer's picture: Theatre BeeTheatre Bee

No, it’s not the start of a bad joke—it’s Dr. Strangelove (rated 🍯🍯🍯 by yours truly), where nuclear apocalypse has never been so absurdly entertaining.



Steve Coogan as Mandrake in Dr Strangelove at Noel Coward Theatre. Photograph: Manuel Harlan
Steve Coogan as Mandrake in Dr Strangelove at Noel Coward Theatre. Photograph: Manuel Harlan

The bee wandered into the Noël Coward Theatre blissfully ignorant of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 cinematic masterpiece Dr. Strangelove. No prior screenings, no understanding of the story, and certainly no awareness that Steve Coogan—chameleon extraordinaire—would be juggling four roles, including the titular character. And yet, sometimes ignorance is the greatest gift a theatregoer can receive.


A Confounding Titular Role

Let’s address the elephant—or rather, the Strangelove—in the room. For a play titled Dr. Strangelove, the good doctor is surprisingly absent for much of the runtime. The bee spent the better part of the evening baffled at why the production centered around this seemingly minor character. Imagine the bewilderment upon discovering later that Steve Coogan, whose curtain call was met with roaring applause, was not only Dr. Strangelove but also President Merkin Muffley, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, and Major T.J. Kong. The fact that the bee failed to detect Coogan’s theatrical sleight of hand is either a testament to his astonishing versatility or to the bee’s blissful ignorance. Likely both.


Still, it raises an interesting point: can the stage version of Dr. Strangelove truly resonate with those unfamiliar with the film? The bee, unburdened by comparisons to Kubrick’s original, leaned into the story’s absurd twists and turns with fresh eyes. For someone who knew nothing of the ending, the suspense was palpable. Would the world survive nuclear apocalypse, or were we all doomed? The bee’s naïveté turned the play into a veritable nail-biter—an experience perhaps unavailable to those familiar with its satirical inevitability.


Coogan’s Quartet of Characters

Coogan’s performance was undeniably the evening’s highlight. Critics have rightly marveled at his ability to embody four wildly different characters with such ease and precision. For the uninitiated bee, however, his achievement wasn’t immediately apparent. It’s hard to applaud an actor’s versatility when you don’t realize you’re watching the same actor. In hindsight, Coogan’s transitions between roles were seamless, his comedic timing impeccable, and his Strangelove deliciously absurd. But the sheer subtlety of his craft meant that the bee spent most of the evening in delightful ignorance.


Jokes That Land—and Some That Don’t

Let’s not pretend this was the funniest thing the bee has ever seen. The humor was sharp in places, lackluster in others. Some jokes drew hearty chuckles; others fell flat, leaving an awkward silence that even the War Room couldn’t contain. And yet, the play’s brisk pacing ensured that no joke lingered long enough to sink the ship. The scenes zipped by with clockwork efficiency, aided by Hildegard Bechtler’s ingenious set design, which seamlessly transported the audience from cockpit to War Room to doomsday bunker. The momentum kept the bee engaged, even during the occasional comedic misstep.


Critical Reception of Dr Strangelove

The wider critical reception of Dr. Strangelove has been a mixed bag. Coogan’s performance has been lauded across the board, with critics calling his Dr. Strangelove “hysterical” and his overall portrayal “a masterclass in versatility” (London Theatre). The adaptation by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley has been praised for its faithfulness to the film, though some argue that its nostalgia outweighs its contemporary relevance (Time Out). The production leans heavily into Kubrick’s original, which, while appealing to fans of the film, can feel alienating for those unfamiliar with its satire. Visually, however, the show has impressed even its harshest critics. Bechtler’s set design has been hailed as “ingenious,” with the War Room, in particular, evoking gasps of admiration (London Theatre Reviews). Yet, as one critic aptly put it, “It’s an accomplished, funny West End comedy—but not quite the biting satire it could have been” (The Arts Dispatch).


For the bee, the experience of Dr. Strangelove was a curious one: part comedy, part thriller, part theatrical sleight of hand. Its ignorance of the film allowed for moments of genuine suspense, but also led to confusion about the titular character’s role. Coogan’s multi-role brilliance, in retrospect, was dazzling, though not immediately apparent. The humour was inconsistent, but the production’s pacing and visual flair ensured that boredom was never an issue.


In the end, the bee left the Noël Coward Theatre amused, entertained, and slightly bewildered—a fitting response to a play that revels in absurdity. Is this Dr. Strangelove a worthy adaptation of Kubrick’s masterpiece? Perhaps not for the purists. But for the uninitiated, it’s an engaging—and occasionally hilarious—introduction to a world on the brink of self-destruction.


Three stars!


 

Watched January 2025 at the Noël Coward Theatre. Dr Strangelove runs through 25 January 2025, so catch it fast before it's too late.

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