one4review | On 10, Aug 2024

The premise for this show is as simple as it is effective. A small theatre company (including one or two extremely minor celebrity actors) have staged a production of Oscar Wilde’s classic The Importance of Being Earnest. However, when the time comes for the title character to step out on stage…he doesn’t. In fact, the actor is nowhere to be seen. But the play must go on, so maybe someone from the audience should step in to assist…

It’s worth getting the elephant in the room out of the way – this show is strongly reminiscent of Mischief Theatre’s brand of Play(s) That Go Wrong. There’s a similar feel to the characterisation of the actors and particularly the long-suffering fire-fighting director, who keeps having to jump in and make compromise after compromise as more and more cast members leave or are incapacitated until there’s as many audience members in costume on stage than there are the original actors. However, while it does feel familiar, it doesn’t feel derivative – in anything, the team at Say It Again Sorry, have taken Mischief’s winning formula to its logical conclusion. It combines all the hilarity of the constant calamities befalling the hard working cast with all the joys of a baffled audience member being gently wheeled from one well-crafted set piece to another. By the end of the show, the audience is one hundred percent behind everyone on stage and the cheers are uproarious.

The only slight issue with the show is that, as with all such shows, it does rely a small amount on the volunteers who are chosen (not all of whom actually volunteer but are more picked) playing up to their roles and some are just a little better at it than others. While the Earnest chosen for our show was overall a jolly good sport about the experience, a couple of the others were clearly a little out of their depth in front of an audience and got a little lost.

Either way, this is the first in what I predict could be an extremely winning formula for Say It Again Sorry and I think a West End run seems highly likely just over the horizon. I would recommend going to see them now before the ticket price doubles.

****1/2
Reviewed by Tom
Pleasance Courtyard – Beyond
16.40 (1hr 10)