ONCE IN A LIFETIME The Young Vic

Moss Hart and George S Kaufman’s Once In A Lifetime is a satire on Hollywood and the coming of sound and follows the fortunes and misfortunes of three small-time vaudeville artists who decide to jump on the Talkies bandwagon and open an elocution school for film stars. The caricature, highly topical when it premiered in 1930, now seems déjà vu and very thin. The Young Vic cannot afford the large cast this American classic requires and Richard Jones’s production, which takes a very long time to get going, lacks the Broadway zip the farce needs. The high spot is John Marquez’s very funny performance as a dimwit, who gets promoted to head of production and makes a terrible movie.