Pun-filled and fun-filled: there are few better ways to spend your evening with this terrifically executed spy romp
Buster Keaton eat your heart out. This slick, fast paced, rapid-fire festival of humour comes at you quicker than an Airplane! gag.
For a production company that has only existed since 2008, Mischief have genuinely honed their craft. Henry Lewis and Henry Shields’ script is clever, pun-filled and fun-filled. Bring an inhaler because this show seriously doesn’t let you catch your breath.
A simple storyline, we follow two Soviet spies and two American spies in 60s London as they try to outsmart each other on a secret mission to obtain certain important documents at the Piccadilly Hotel. Caught up in the melée is a James Bond auditionee and a hapless couple just looking for some respite. An incredible array of in-jokes, historical references and cultural nods pepper the dialogue and physical comedy.
From start to finish I was howling, from the visual puns of quick prop changes and gymnastic slapstick, to the machine-gun speed of verbal riffs, callbacks, clapbacks and punch lines.
Known for their extremely inventive set design, designer David Farley achieves a kinetic energy that means you are always playing visual acrobatics to keep up with the pace of the performers as they constantly use the space at every level. Resembling what can only be an interpretation of the Windows logo, four bedrooms in primary colours are laid out like a 2×2 box for each of the character teams: one for the Soviets, the Americans, the Brits and the auditionee. Beautiful plush art deco touches for the hotel lobby are wistfully rendered to evoke nostalgia as well as practicality.
The entire cast is sensational, as is to be expected. Standouts for me include Bernard Wright (played by Henry Shields) whose lovelorn British baker is truly the heart of the show. It is a wonderfully nuanced, “straight” performance that cuts through all the humour with charm and courage, giving the audience a baseline breather from the gags. I was also a fan of Sergei Ivanov (played by Chris Leask) whose faux English accent was clearly borrowed from ‘Allo ‘Allo!. Despite being a Soviet spy, he was endearing and human, with small nods to his wish for friendship amongst the icy reality of the cold war. And finally, a special mention to the maniacal human embodiment of farce that is Douglas Woodbead (played by Henry Lewis). His larger than life character of an actor trying to get the role of James Bond exemplified British comedy and the presentation of the absurd. Combining bombastic physical comedy with wit and pathos in ever more ridiculous set ups is truly a talent Lewis possesses. A thoroughly modern millennial jester.
The whole show fizzes, emanating the boundless energy of a child with a sugar rush, but it also has the refinement of Shakespeare and the comic timing of a Marx brother. It’s like Operation Mincemeat and 39 Steps had a secret affair with Cirque du Soleil. The audience could simply not stop laughing; everything was choreographed to within an inch of its life, and the execution of each line was flawless.
Ultimately, this show does not punch down or go for cheap shots and lazy insults. The jokes are witty, irreverent and maintain silliness with soul. Yes the closing act has more twists and turns than a drive through Milton Keynes but who cares? This show is the most fun you can have this side of the Iron Curtain. Probably the other side, too.