Mathew Horne

Mat Horne: I should be over it, but I hated school

Gavin & Stacey star Mathew Horne talks about his latest role as the irritating headmaster, Mr Fraser, in BBC3's new comedy Bad Education.

James Corden: Gavin & Stacey will return for Christmas

James Corden says a Gavin & Stacey reunion with co-star Mathew Horne is on his Christmas list - in spite of rumours the pair are at odds.

Mathew Horne refuses to appear on James Corden show

Mathew Horne has refused to be interviewed for a programme about James Corden.

James Corden reveals the rift with Mathew Horne

James Corden has revealed that he and comedy partner Mathew Horne, who were once inseparable, drifted apart after their sketch show failed drastically.

Mat Horne won't star in Gavin & Stacey film if made

Gavin & Stacey star Mathew Horne has warned fans he won't star in a movie version of the hit BBC sitcom.

Steve Coogan is currently showcasing his inner pain to great comic/dramatic effect in BBC2's The Trip, playing himself. In the first of this double bill of one-act plays he does the same as a Russian character created 125 years ago: a man who's supposed to be lecturing on The Dangers of Tobacco but is so consumed with animosity towards his mean and controlling wife, he talks only of her. The script unravels the speaker skilfully (he's good, Chekhov) but to come alive it needs a performer who can put all his bruised heart into it: Coogan makes the crescendo of bitterness and disappointment scarily real. The Proposal, a fast, talky farce, approaches the same theme from another angle, and has another bravura performance: Mathew Horne as a nervous suitor asking for the hand of his neighbour, Sheridan Smith. They're long-term friends, but the years have caused a build-up of tiny resentments more suited to a marriage.

A double bill of Chekhov: in The Dangers Of Tobacco, Steve Coogan plays Nyukhin, a husband who should be delivering a lecture of the harmful nature of tobacco (even though he smokes). However, he keeps slipping off topic, telling the woes of his life, his regrets, yearnings and the misery inflicted by his domineering wife. In The Proposal, Mathew Horne is a nervous hypochondriac who has come to ask his neighbour's hand in marriage. However, he becomes embroiled in a petty squabble with the neighbour (Sheridan Smith) and her father (Philip Jackson) which threatens his life.

Steve Coogan is currently drawing plaudits for his role opposite Rob Brydon in the wonderfully enjoyable The Trip, but here he turns his sizeable comic talents to this double bill of Chekhov plays. In the first instalment, The Dangers Of Tobacco, Coogan is at his bitter best in a role as tragic as it is comic. There's a distinct change of place as Mathew Horne takes centre stage for the night's second play, The Proposal, which is a fast-paced farce that serves up smiles by the bucket load. Both are simply superb and offer the ideal solution to stave off the Sunday blues.

A successful season of short farces by Anton Chekhov draws to a close with a double bill. The Dangers of Tobacco is a monologue in which the hen-pecked Nyukhin (Steve Coogan) is forced to deliver a lecture on the dangers of smoking by his domineering wife. Instead, Nyukhin digresses to bemoan his lot and complain about his "petty, evil miser" of a wife. Better is The Proposal, a witty take on marriage. It finds wimpy hypochondriac Lomov (Mathew Horne) seeking the hand of his neighbour Natasha (Sheridan Smith) from her father (Philip Jackson), until it all disintegrates into a bout of one-upmanship.

Johnny Vegas is perhaps someone you would not automatically associate with Anton Chekhov. Likewise Mackenzie Crook. But here they are in Chekhov: Comedy Shorts (Sky Arts 2). In this first one, A Reluctant Tragic Hero, Vegas plays Tolkachov, a man at the very end of his tether, fed up with running tedious shopping errands for his family. Crook is Murashkin, Tolkachov's mate, who should be - tries to be - sympathetic, but then gets it all wrong and adds to poor Tolkachov's problems.

And hey, it works. Vegas gets to do what he's designed to do - make a lot of noise and be miserable (he has tragedy built into his features). Crook gets to say not very much, be a bit gormless, and have a long, hollow face. Which suits him fine, too. Nineteeth-century Russia could easily be 21st-century anywhere; I guess that - the continuing relevance - is what makes Chekhov a dude. Hey, who said this column can't do serious literary criticism?

Anyway, they're quite good fun, and there are more to come, with other unlikely Chekhovian actors including Steve Coogan, Julia Davies and Mathew Horne. Bring 'em on.