NFT Live: Dr. Strangelove & The Penguin Lessons
Last week I watched Steve Coogan play five roles in two films, or if you prefer, one film and one broadcast of a play. First up was The Penguin Lessons, a film designed to appeal to a popular audience and generally succeeding. The play was the UK’s National Theatre adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s movie, Dr. Strangelove (1964), in which Coogan has to emulate Peter Sellers and go one better.
In the original Dr. Strangelove, Sellers played three roles: Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove. He was also slated to be Major ‘King’ Kong but injured his ankle and was replaced by Slim Pickens, who later claimed that his over-the-top performance quadrupled his Hollywood paychecks.
Coogan, in this NT stage adaptation by Sean Foley and Armando Iannucci, plays Major Kong as well, necessitating a lot of rapid costume changes, especially in the war room scenes where the President has to discreetly disappear before Strangelove enters. I can’t pretend Coogan is better than Sellers in any of his three big roles, or as demented as Pickens in the other, but it’s a heroic effort.