Fresh ideas throughout the show kept the raucous hilarity going
It is a bold choice to open up your show to the unknown by allowing audience members onto the stage, but Say It Again, Sorry?, the group that took Edinburgh fringe by storm, made hay with the risky choice. The show has been touring and is coming to the final shows, one of which was at the Richmond Theatre. The thing that stood out in this show was the way that the cast have clearly honed and refined the way they interact with their chosen audience members. They treat them respectfully but poking fun at each turn with superb comedic skill. It was impossible not to laugh out loud which was well-maintained throughout the show.
When the show starts, the cast played it with a totally straight bat, giving nothing away as to what might be coming. However, when their star Earnest doesn’t show up, Terry, played by Guido Garcia Lueches and Graham, played by Rhys Tees, immediately switched to nervous cast members and the effect was brilliant. Initially I had concerns that the comedy aspect would be overdone, but the cast played it on exactly the right line. Credit must be given to Josh Haberfield playing the Director who’s reactive comedic timing was flawless.
The use of physical comedy was particularly impressive, played out especially well as the character Terry had been given direction to just do the show as they had blocked it, meaning that the audience members who were roped in were left totally clueless as Guido Garcia Lueches frolicked around the stage. It’s safe to say the audience were left crying with laughter at these scenes. In the initial scenes, all of the props had already been used and the effect of the cast trying to carry on was hilarious. The use of Ben Mann’s character, Josh the supportive stagehand, also demonstrated brilliant use of physical comedy and continually won the hearts of the audience.
Both Trynity Silk and Judith Amsenga added further skillful layers as they brought their unique spin to interaction with audience cast members. It was great to see the way the classic Lady Bracknell lines were interwoven with all of the frivolity and Judith Amsenga delivered them with perfect balance of satisfaction and wit, avoiding losing sight of Oscar Wilde’s great work amongst the fun and mayhem. The different approach of each cast member to the audience is accompanied by the fact that they deploy different tools for the audience cast members to engage. In the first instance they use total improvisation, giving them no script, later they share a script, then there are cue cards and finally one of the cast does a voice over for some audience members, reacting quickly to their moves and actions which was absolutely brilliant. The fresh ideas throughout meant that the trope of bringing in new audience members never became tired and they were also always kept on their toes which made their reactions often all the more comedic.
The show has been touring for a number of months, and is coming to the end of its run. There is often a risk that shows like this, particularly where there is a formula the cast are following, can become tired and less funny after so many performances. However, this was not at all the case for this cast. The way they are totally reactive to the audience cast members and avoid trying to anticipate their moves made everything totally slick and showcased the incredible talent of this group. There will be more shows at the Edinburgh Fringe this year and this is definitely one to catch – your sides will hurt at the end from laughing so hard!