The Grand Babylon Hotel – Arnold Bennett’s fun, frolicking farce

Attempted murder, actual murder; cross-Channel chases (by ferry, yacht and dinghy); deceptions, disguises; kidnapping; shooting; incipient romance (no spoilers) – such mighty events arise from the trivial demand of the indulged daughter of an American multimillionaire for a simple dinner of “steak and Bass” in that first among the hotels of Europe, the Grand Babylon Hotel (or GBH for short).

Arnold Bennett’s 1902 novel, subtitled A Fantasia on Modern Themes, is a sharp-witted satire on social mores, the power of money and the untrustworthiness of appearances. Co-producers Claybody and New Vic theatres bring to this, its first-ever stage adaptation, by playwright Deborah McAndrew, their signature total-theatre style – excellently exemplified in Conrad Nelson’s direction.

Hotel suites, hidden corridors, choppy seas, chase sequences and more are conjured to our imaginations by the cast in tandem with the creative team.

The five actors manipulate Lis Evans’s minimal set and props to evoke that which is not there. They respond to Daniella Beattie’s lighting as if it were concretely shaping the space around them. A crack from Damian Coldwell’s sound design, for instance, causes a halt, a raised foot, a look – a giveaway loose floorboard! James Atherton’s atmospheric silent movie-style compositions and arrangements are subsumed into body movements, as if by sonic osmosis.

These playful distancing effects draw attention to the techniques of the storytelling and communicate the irony of Bennett’s tone. However, neither text nor presentation quite hit the story’s satirical targets and the momentum of the action is occasionally interrupted by over-explicatory plot-delivering exchanges.

Much is asked of the multi-talented ensemble; much is delivered, with joyous aplomb. Pivotal roles are Bill Champion’s laconic, cigar-chewing millionaire and his sassy daughter (Alice Pryor). Quick-changing around them are Thomas Cotran (three roles), Shelley Atkinson (four) and that marvel of physical comedy and instantly crystallised characterisations, six-roles Michael Hugo.

The Grand Babylon Hotel, Hull Truck, is touring until 4 April

Photograph by Andrew Billington