REVIEW: JEFFREY BERNARD IS UNWELL by Keith Waterhouse at Coach and Horses Pub, Soho 19 January – 10 February 2025

‘Robert Bathurst is a joy to watch’ ★★★★

This hugely popular show has several things about it that are outstanding. It is the ultimate site-specific theatrical event, being put on in the very pub that the protagonist has found himself shut up in, having dozed off in the Gents toilet and failed to notice the landlord locking up. The Coach and Horses is a legendary Soho drinking establishment, renowned journalist Jeffery Bernard did occupy a barstool there, the audience can enjoy the frisson of sharing the self-same space as Jeffrey. A publication devoted to pub theatre has found the finest expression of theatre in a pub.

The character of Jeffery Bernard is presented by Robert Bathurst. Mr. Bathurst is effortlessly louche, delivers the anecdotes that make up the hour-long entertainment with wit and precision, and elegantly navigates the complex blocking that comes from pretending that the pub is empty when it is actually rammed to the rafters. He drifts from behind the bar and across the floor, giving everyone in the audience a fair share of his presence, and engaging with various members with charm and grace.

There is a large elephant in the saloon bar, however. Keith Waterhouse wrote the play in 1989, and in the thirty-five years that have elapsed, the humorous nature of finding yourself blacked out in a field near the Pontefract racetrack has been superseded by the recognition that that is a significant health problem, and alcoholics are more ill than they are entertaining. The endless stream of anecdotes about the various characters who make up the Soho of Bernard’s era strike a note that is concerning rather than joyous. The experience of being a designated driver in a room full of heavy drinkers is not especially fun. The defining feature of ‘character’ in his book is the ability to neck vodka by the gallon. 

It’s an odd evening’s entertainment. The thrill of watching a play in the very place where the stories happened is unique and rather wonderful, Robert Bathurst is a joy to watch, especially when he is acting on the other side of a tiny table, and the play is both dated and dubious. 

Defibrillator and M. Green Productions present

JEFFREY BERNARD IS UNWELL By Keith Waterhouse

Directed and adapted by James Hillier

Performed by Robert Bathurst

At Coach and Horses Pub, Soho

BOX OFFICE