The name Mischief Theatre has become synonymous with brilliant homegrown comedy productions following the success of shows like The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong and many more so there is always a huge amount of expectation with their shows. The Comedy About Spies received its premiere last year at the Noel Coward Theatre but I didn’t get the opportunity to see it so I was delighted to finally have the opportunity to see it this time around.
The show centre on the retrieval of a suitcase containing the ‘Project Midnight’ plans that go missing from MI5. KGB agents Sergei Ivanov and Elena Popov are sent to retrieve them from a British turncoat at the Hotel Piccadilly however the CIA get wind of this and Lance Buchanan is sent to intercept them, along with his mother and ex agent, Janet Buchanan. Along the way there is a series of misunderstandings with actor Douglas Woodbead and young couple Rosemary Wilson and Bernard Wright.
The show, written by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields is effective from the start, with a clever sequence relying on wordplay opening the show and immediately setting the bar high for what follows. The brilliant thing is that the comedy comes thick and fast in all guises, from the aforementioned wordplay to slapstick humour to farce as the ridiculousness of the situation escalate as the show goes on. Taken alone these elements would still work well but when combined they result in a huge amount of laughter and a show where you are never sure what is going to come next. The plot itself is also a lot of fun and relies on many of the known and loved spy tropes but all with a Mischief spin on them to keep them feeling fresh. Mischief Theatre also understand the value of escalation, rarely settling for a single gag when it can layer another and then another until the original sequence has become completely ridiculous but also hilariously funny.
There is a huge demand ON the cast in this show, from larger than life characterisation to physically flinging themselves across THE stage and into elaborate fight sequences. It is easy to see how many of the performers are core or founding members of Mischief Theatre as the entire company make what is a very complex production look easy. Dave Hearne takes on the role of Lance Buchanan and his mother Janet is played by Nancy Zamit. They bounce off each other brilliantly with very distinctive characters. Our KGB agents are Bryony Corrigan playing Elena Popova and Chris Leask playing Sergei Ivanov who despite playing characters the audience might ordinarily be expected to dislike managed to get the audience vocally invested in the outcome of their partnership.
Adele James plays Rosemary Wilson and Henry Shields plays the hapless Bernard Wright who suffers the most as a result of all of the miscommunication. Their relationship is paced brilliantly and despite the comedy focus Shields is so successful in his portrayal of Bernard that you care about the outcome of their relationship. Co-writer Henry Lewis plays the larger than life Douglas Woodbead who has some of the highlights of the show, from his laundry room escapades to his bird attack his physical comedy is really something to be admired. Completing the principal cast was Greg Tannahill as Albert Tipton, the hotel concierge who succeeded in making me laugh a disproportionate amount of times from simply appearing into a scene much to the surprise of his fellow performers.
What makes this production particularly impressive is the casts timing and the precision required to execute these gags. A misplaced cue or mistimed entrance could easily derail the sequence yet the cast maintain an almost relentless rhythm.
The set, designed by David Farley not only looks like a work of art but enhances the comedy at all times and becomes part of the mechanism that makes the comedy possible. The piece de resistance is referred to as the Battenberg which is 4 hotel rooms stacked 2 by 2 in different colourways to help the audience follow the action. In this setup, shiraz gets thrown out of the windows, floors and ceilings collapse, radios are bugged and props move between rooms. All of the moving parts are incredibly complex but with Farley’s design this means the gags can continue to flow.
The Comedy About Spies is Mischief Theatre doing what they do best: taking an intricate set-up and allowing it to descend into beautifully controlled chaos. The combination of precise physical comedy, escalating farce and a cast who clearly understand the rhythm of this style makes for an evening that rarely lets laughter subside. With a production this technically complex being executed with such apparent ease, it’s easy to see why Mischief has become synonymous with British comedy theatre.
The Comedy About Spies is on until 26th September. You can find out more and book tickets here.
If you like this review you might also like my review of The Play That Goes Wrong, Cyrano De Bergerac, Operation Mincemeat.