Littler and his co-adapter Rosie Tricks, who sounds like she belongs in a Georgian comedy herself, play fast and loose with this plot, its characters and dialogue. Perhaps most jarring is the case of O’Trigger, a hot-tempered Irish nobleman in the original, here rendered as a shoulder-padded American businessman given to shouting “Hot Dog!” at random moments. Though Jack’s bellowing servant Fag, renamed Gieves (pronounced “Jeeves”, in an act of Wodehousian character association), runs him a close second.
The Rivals theatre review: Classic comedy revival is gorgeous but awkwardly updated
