Henry Shields and Adele James in The Comedy About Spies at Noël Coward Theatre.During the performance I attended, producer Kenny Wax sat pensively in one of the boxes from where he frequently assessed audience reactions to the onstage antics, but he needn’t have been concerned. Farce this slick, this tongue-in-cheek, this quirkily British, will always draw laughter from a hugely appreciative audience. Writers Henry Lewis and Henry Shields follow their winning successes with this new escapade which sees a hapless Brit trying to propose to his girlfriend who it transpires is a secret agent on the trail of a doomsday weapon named Midnight which the Soviets have managed to secrete from under the noses of MI6 and the CIA. Cue ridiculously convoluted escapades crammed to the gills with corny puns, intricately silly word-play, daft visual gags, a dizzying array of prop and set trickery, and absolutely oodles of zany fun.
Setting the show in the 1960s, allows the cast to ramp up the Brit pomposity and foolishness which is both nostalgically endearing and hilariously juxtaposed with the malevolent idiocy of the Soviets and the brashness of the gun-toting Americans. From the get go, there is rarely a moment in which the cast draw breath, with a furiously busy and bustling set design (by David Farley) making good use of trapdoors, travelators and at one point four adjoining rooms within The Hotel Piccadilly which quickly transforms into the reception lobby. One thing which is absolutely certain, is that this production requires the sort of pin-point accuracy associated with Formula 1 pit-stop tyre changes to ensure everything is in the right place at the right time. The stage crew who rarely get mentioned in reviews, do an absolutely astounding job and should be commended for their efforts in one of the busiest visual shows you will see this year.
With help from Movement Director Shelley Maxwell, Matt DiCarlo directs the Mischief regulars: Dave Hearn, Chris Leask, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill and Nancy Zamit with newcomer Adele James making her debut. They are joined onstage by ensemble members Macadie Amoroso, Adam Bryon, Matt Cavendish, Allie Dart, Niall Ransome and Ashley Tucker.
The production’s initial run is scheduled until 5th September this year.
