From the same company of actors and writer David Spicer, who put on “Doing Shakespeare”, they were now “Doing The Pub Quiz”. Does anyone remember that early lockdown phase where we were all obsessed with partaking in quizzes over Zoom? It felt like so long ago and yet so recent. In fact that was the first time I'd ever heard of Zoom, believe it or not. Anyway, Northern Comedy Theatre, at the very least, capture the competitive spirit of this traditional British pastime. Unfortunately, it all felt rather flat when compared with the previously dynamic, “Doing Shakespeare” play created.
We met “Smarticus”, a team of eager quiz players hoping to win the imminent pub quiz and become the chief know-it-alls and smart alecks. They had their strategies and approaches with each member demonstrating a fighting chance of being beacons of knowledge in their specialist subjects. But, one of the members called Jason was a cunning and duplicitous, cheating-master. Especially when he was able to hack into and access the official questions and answers sheet of the virtual quiz. Will the team play fairly and if they lose, lose with integrity? Or, will they give in to temptation?
Once again, I liked the connection between the actors and relationships between characters. You could tell how rehearsed the whole thing was. Although, as I said, this time around it wasn’t as exciting as the last show. “Doing Shakespeare” was visually interesting with the costumes, Shakespeare themed Zoom backgrounds, and frequent entrances and exits. With this, they were just talking to one another from their living rooms and so on for the full show. On the one hand, it is true to what would actually happen in real life. On the other hand, in the context of the production, they could have done more to make it visually engaging for the audience – by maybe going back to the creative ways they used Zoom last time?
In addition, it felt steady in some scenes, not as much variation in pace or tension. The last play had a stronger premise they could play with more, I think. This plot felt somewhat predictable. Saying that, the intellectual and political humour suited the play’s proceedings and complimented the personalities of the characters. The relatable bickering was a call-back to Christmas games with the family. The lengthy discussion of uber-complex rules was amusing.
All things considered, what I’ve written doesn’t mean I wouldn’t watch another production by Northern Comedy Theatre. After all, they all have a natural ability to brighten up our spirits during this pandemic. I just didn’t like this show as much as the last one.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 10/7/20
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