'The Comedy About Spies' review — Mischief scores again with this riotously silly Cold War spy spoof

Read our review of The Comedy About Spies, the latest romp from the Play Goes Wrong team, now in performances at the Noël Coward Theatre to 5 September.

London, 1961. A rogue British agent has stolen a secret file containing Project Midnight. Now on its way to Moscow, the file would help either Russia or America win the Cold War. Enter the best KGB and CIA operatives, tasked with intercepting both the file and the agent.

Add a hapless actor hoping to be the first James Bond, a nervy baker from Tadworth trying to propose to his girlfriend, agents continuously switching sides and one spy’s overbearing mum and you have Mischief’s latest show, The Comedy About Spies. What could possibly go wrong?

A spy show set during the Cold War is ripe for parody: superior Brits speaking in pronounced RP accents, brash and arrogant Americans, and evil, but ultimately stupid, Soviets. Politically correct it certainly isn’t, but huge fun it definitely is.

Staged mainly in the Piccadilly Hotel, we are treated to some Fawlty Towers-style antics from the manager (a wonderfully effete performance by Greg Tannahill), combined with the classic farce and spoof that Mischief do so well, as the spies try and fail to locate the British agent.

Usual Mischief writer Jonathan Sayer is missing from this project, but Henry Lewis and Henry Shields maintain the company’s signature style. The wordplay is incredibly silly, but also very clever. The play’s opening sets the scene as an MI6 chief has problems with agents named after letters. The words “For ease” bring four agents named E running in. “Oh I see!” brings in agents O, I and C. It is deceptively simple comedy that continues throughout.

The cast is tight, with a zany energy. The chemistry is palpable: it's obvious that most of the performers have worked together for a long time. As ever, Lewis steals every scene in which he appears. As actor Douglas Woodbead he makes full use of his remarkable vocal talents, imbuing Douglas with a hysterical faux gravitas and confidence, despite his poor acting skills.

Shields is timid baker Bernard who is thrown unexpectedly into the disarray. He embraces the buttoned-up and reserved character, but also makes him hugely likeable. Adele James makes a strong Mischief debut as his girlfriend Rosemary.

Dave Hearn brims with testosterone as macho CIA spy Lance, complemented by Nancy Zamit as his overly vocal and proud mother Janet, who also happens to be a former spy. Charlie Russell embraces the parody as smirking Soviet Elena, with Chris Leask as her not-nice-but-dim sidekick Sergei.

Even for Mischief, this is an ambitious show, with rarely a pause in the action. Farce is one of the hardest forms of comedy to get right, particularly physically. Accuracy in timing is everything and movement director Shelley Maxwell and director Matt DiCarlo have done a remarkable job in making all the pratfalls, scene changes and general chaos look effortless.

The Noël Coward is a large venue and needs a production that can fill the space. Fortunately designer David Farley has created around 20 locations, making great use of trapdoors, travelators and one impressive set which manages to fit four separate hotel rooms on stage at once. Johanna Town’s lighting works in perfect harmony, highlighting every physical gag.

The show extended its run before the previews started and it’s easy to see why. If you like Mischief’s previous work, you will love this. If you are new to their style, it’s a fabulous introduction.

The Comedy About Spies is at the Noël Coward Theatre to 5 September. Book The Comedy About Spies tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: The Comedy About Spies (Photos by Matt Crockett)