WELL WORTH THE MONEYPENNY
This is superb: simply what all of us wanted. In the corporate’s spirit of by no means losing a horrible joke, I completely Bond-ed to it. Following Mischief Theatre with devotion, ever aince their 2013 Play that goes Wrong was born I’ve joyed of their disciplined however clownishly fearless tactic of blending up half a dozen comedian genres – from foolish to satanically-subtle – and rattling them at you until you’re helpless. So right here is high bodily slapstick and horrible puns, understanding parody and determinedly dumb farce, a splash of character-comedy, quick patter and Wodehousian absurdity , all in bucketfuls of pure power. And it’s a contented factor to see 4 of the Mischief founders on the market in particular person, co-author Henries Lewis and Shields, Dave Hearn and Nancy Zamit.
This time, below New York director Matt di Carlo, they tackle the irresistible world of spy movies from Bond to Smiley, setting all of it in 1961 and opening – simply to limber us up – with a Whitehall workplace scene with the magisterial Henry Lewis as M totally summoning and complicated single-letter colleagues In a blinkingly fast vaudeville second, ending by explaining that the code is simply there “for ease”, whereon 4 E’s storm in. Then it settles into the primary plot. Two Soviet brokers are Charlie Russell as Elena, scornfully omnicompetent, and Chris Leask as Sergei, who works ceaselessly and hopelessly at dwelling his cowl ‘legend” as British Dr Tim (“a spleen expert”). Vieing with them to cease a traitor handing over a lethal secret is the CIA man, Hearn as Lance Buchanan , and OMG he has all of the gestures, crouching to anticipated explosions then shouting “Clear!”. He resides down numerous failures, not helped by the arrival of Zamit as his possessive ex-spy Mum, all the time up for a kill-mission and liable to reminisce about different legends of the commerce “sucked a bullet out of his thigh, that was a great party”. Meanwhile the innocents (or are they?)who tangle with the spies in a lodge are Adele James as Rosemary and her boyfriend Bernard – Shields does a beautiful Wodehousian nitwit – and Lewis as a pompous actor who has come to audition for the primary Bond movie. And, in fact, thinks the Americans should be from the studio.
Soon – in David Farley’s expensively sensible set – there’s a two-storey Battenburg-cake of 4 lodge rooms the place all of them plot, misunderstand, bug each other, and spectacularly fall by way of flooring and out of home windows (Mischief is athletically courageous). Jokes at each stage from advanced to asinine come at you quickly, and within the second half there may be a lot neon spectacular, loads of blink-and-you-miss it background jokes, fast operating, private hopelessness, brilliantly choreographed fights and sly cultural jokes: you need to find it irresistible when a personality who’s escaped from being trapped in a washing-machine says he’s nonetheless “a little giddy from the revolution” . The Soviets nod, aren’t all of us..
Enough. It’s fantastic. Mischief at their finest, as finely labored as clockwork and exuberant as toddlers.
delfontmackintosh.co.uk. to five Sept
Rating 5
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