''Two Into One'' is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

written by English playwright Ray Cooney, which premiered in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

in 1983 and then had a long run at the Shaftesbury Theatre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from late 1984 to early 1986. Cooney both directed and acted in a 2014 production of the play in London, and it was also translated into Swedish as ''Hotelliggaren''.

Production history

''Two Into One'' was first performed in

, Surrey, in a co-production by Theatre of Comedy and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, from 11 May to 4 June 1983. This production was directed and produced by playwright Ray Cooney, with stage design by Terry Parsons. Cooney also played George Pigden, while Derek Waring played Richard Willey, Joyce Blair played Pamela Willey, Serretta Wilson played Jennifer Bristow, and Anthony Sharp played The Manager. The play had a long run at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 15 October 1984 to 15 February 1986. It starred Donald Sinden in the lead role as The Right Hon Richard Willey, MP until Donald Hewlett took over the role temporarily from 18 March to 27 April 1985, and then Anton Rodgers for the final year. Michael Williams played George Pigden for the whole run apart from being temporarily replaced by Tom Conti from 18 March to 27 April 1985.

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden ...

played The Manager, later temporarily replaced by Eric Sykes and then Moray Watson. Actresses included Linda Hayden, Serretta Wilson, Jane Downs, Angela Browne, and Barbara Murray. Playwright Ray Cooney also directed the production, and his Theatre of Comedy Company bought the theatre during the run. Also during 1984–5, the play had a run in Canada, in a production by Ed and David Mirvish in association with Theatre of Comedy and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 1999 a film version of the play in Swedish, directed by Bo Hermansson and featuring Peter Haber, Suzanne Reuter, Hans V. Engström, Iwa Boman, and Johan Rheborg was released, titled '. ''Hotelliggaren'' was also staged in 2012 by the amateur theatre group Vulkanteatern in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

, Sweden. In 2014, a production of ''Two into One'' directed by Cooney and also featuring the playwright as The Waiter, was staged by Menier Chocolate Factory, a theatre in Southwark, London, running from 8 March to 26 April. Michael Praed played Richard Willey, Josefina Gabrielle was Pamela Willey, and

Nick Wilton Nicholas Wilton is an English actor and scriptwriter. He has appeared as Mr Lister in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a recurring character; he has also appeared in '' Carrott's Lib'' and ''Jackanory''. Early life Wilton studied Englis ...

played George Pigden.

References

{{reflist 1984 plays West End plays Comedy plays Plays by Ray Cooney Laurence Olivier Award–winning plays