BBC Radio 4, 27 December 2010
Another one-person show from Martin Jarvis, recorded at the Cheltenham
Literature Festival. This story concerns the unwelcome intrusion into Bertie Wooster's life of Wilmott (aka Motty), the nephew
of one of Aunt Agatha's numerous relatives, who apparently spends much of his life touring countries and writing books. Motty
is characterized as a home-loving vegetarian, fond of early nights and a monastic life, but actually turns out to be a social
menace, spending his nights drinking, partying and horseplaying as he enjoys the unaccustomed pleasure of spending time away
from his domineering mother.
"Jeeves and the Unwelcome Guest," is a predictable tale of Wooster making futile
attempts to assert his authority over Motty, and eventually turning to Jeeves to rescue the situation. Motty gets thrown into
jail - the result of winning a bet in which Jeeves dared him to hit a police officer. The whole exercise is a charade, not
only to remove Motty from Bertie's house, but to convince Motty's mother that the young man in fact researching her latest
book by going to jail. Needless to say all ends happily: Motty is restored to his mother, while Jeeves achieves his wish of
forcing his employer to dispense with a particularly garish item of clothing, as well as emerging $50 richer.
Martin Jarvis had great fun impersonating all the voices, even though his female
characterizations tended towards the grotesque, and hence directing the audience's attention away from Wodehouse's masterful
use of language. The director was Pete Atkin.
