REVIEW: The Comedy About A Bank Robbery - The Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Mischief Theatre became a genuine phenomenon with the worldwide success of the remarkable and brilliant farce 'The Play That Goes Wrong' (still on in the West End). With the bar set that high, the question was how it could be followed? The simple answer is that 'The Comedy About A Bank Robbery' is a worthy follow-on; just as funny, at least equally ambitious and certainly just as jam-packed full of predictable or blatantly nicked clichés, stereotypes and old stalwarts which all somehow work, often as not hilariously so.

It starts with an empty stage and an impressive backdrop. With a minimalist set, the actors get going with quick-fire “Morecambe and Wise” type of humour, which whilst funny, seems like it more soon get boring but this is just the start of an astonishing ride, boasting a number of amazingly complex sets with the energetic cast delivering an object lesson in pace as it becomes clear the writers have trawled inspiration from a vast range of North American-style comedies, from The Marx Brothers to Jerry Lewis to Jim Carey. If 'The Play That Goes Worng' taps into just about every cliché from the English Country House murder mystery, then this one covers virtually everything you’d expect from a mid-20th Century America city crime story.

Many of the stunts are genuinely jaw-dropping, at times comparable to circus acts whilst also being very funny. Many of the forced-jokes would be tedious in a lesser setting but the pace just gets faster and faster with many gags requiring split-second timing, and they just keep on coming. To say much more would be to give spoilers and this is a show which is guaranteed to surprise and delight throughout.

There is with this show no small amount of music which often enhances the atmosphere although certain solo songs do on occasion drag on a bit, although never to such a degree that the overall pace was significantly reduced.

There are some excellent characters, typically giving a nod to what are almost now conventions in the American comedy crime caper. We have Mr Freeboys, the black authority figure who never stops shouting and grumbling, brilliantly played by Damian Lynch; the cold, unsympathetic criminal, menacingly played by Liam Jeavons (think of Peter Greene in ‘The Mask’). Caprice, the sexy girlfriend wanting to escape him, convincingly played by Julia Frith, and Sam, the inept guy she falls for, who just happens to have a natural gift for impersonations to get out of trouble, superbly played by Sean Carey (his performance frequently brought to mind comparisons with his namesake Jim).

You leave the theatre with many powerful images of the superb sets, over-the–top characters and mad-cap action still running through your mind. This is a show that will run and run; pure entertainment, requiring no effort to follow the plot even though it does twist and turn, keeping the audience guessing right up to the last line, as to who, if anyone, will escape with the loot. The entire play was both well written and well performed and one can only wonder how on earth Mischief Theatre will follow up on this comic extravaganza. Something tells us they will find a way.

'The Comedy About A Bank Robbery' is on at the Lowry until Saturday 15^th September as part of a national tour until June 2019.

Reviewers - John Waterhouse and Tony Collier

on - 11/9/18