Mischief reaches comedy heights

Noel Coward theatre

Mischief made their name with The Play That Goes Wrong. Their follow-ups have never quite reached the height of comedy of the original- until now, it seems. A spoof of 1960s spy films, The Comedy About Spies is a convoluted story of British, American and Russian agents looking for the plans of a top secret weapon. The plot is probably less important than the quality of the script by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, the direction by Matt DiCarlo, the design by David Farley, and the ensemble cast, all of which were lavished with praise by the critics.

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Greg Stewart at Theatre Weekly declared, ‘This finely tuned machine of comic timing and theatrical chaos is possibly Mischief’s best work yet’. He wrote, ‘Writers Henry Lewis and Henry Shields have crafted a script that is both lovingly referential and gleefully absurd. The dialogue crackles with wit, and the physical comedy…is executed with military precision. Some jokes are smooth as a Shiraz: quick and easy, delivered seemingly off the cuff in response to a previous line. However, the real magic lies in punchlines set up several scenes earlier, making the payoff all the more rewarding.’

Aliya Al-Hussan at LondonTheatre was just as enthusiastic: ‘Politically correct it certainly isn’t, but huge fun it definitely is.’ ‘The wordplay is incredibly silly, but also very clever,’ she opined. ‘The cast is tight, with a zany energy. The chemistry is palpable…As ever, Lewis steals every scene in which he appears.’

The Mail‘s Patrick Marmion was left ‘in awe at how it’s possible to devise something so complicated… and actually pull it off on stage.’ Calling it ‘slick as an oil spill on an ice rink,’ he said it was ‘a 360, all-round, head-spinning winner’.

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Standard‘s Nick Curtis got very excited: ‘Finally, Mischief Theatre may have found a show to match the frenetically daft wit and precise physical comedy of their breakout hit The Play That Goes Wrong.’ He praised the ‘cartoonish levels of gurning and mugging to augment the physical horseplay and…the plot is pure nonsense. But it made me laugh out loud more often than just about anything else I’ve seen in the last 12 months and the characters are charming and winningly delineated. The fans will love it: I and other sceptics may be converted.’

Clive Davis of The Times proclaimed, ‘this is just the kind of outrageously inventive humour that the world needs at the moment.’ He said, ‘Matt DiCarlo’s intricately calibrated production is a miracle of comic timing and ensemble acting.’ He noted, ‘David Farley’s set is a joy, the scenery changes unfurling like a succession of Russian dolls.’

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish warned, ‘if you don’t have a penchant for running gags flogged to death, rampant mugging, cheap sight gags and corny word-play then you may not be the ideal audience here. That said, even the most averse spectator will likely marvel at the gag-a-line detail, comic timing and sheer physical bravura of this company of fools’. He concluded,’I’d say it takes near genius to fashion something this incorrigibly goofy.’ ‘it’s escapism of the highest order, and in the end, hugely enjoyable,’ decided Chris Omaweng of LondonTheatre1.

Ryan Gilbey for The Guardian ‘was crying helpless tears of laughter within the first five minutes, and at several other moments throughout’. He provided his own humorous comment on the content, saying the show ‘offers farce, slapstick and multiple callbacks. So much of the script relies on linguistic misunderstandings (sweet/suite, need/knead, etc) that even the most tolerant viewer may become homophone-phobic.’ He noted, ‘David Farley’s doll’s-house-style cross-section set, which splits the hotel into colour-coded quarters in the first act, is glorious, but his designs grow fussy and over-dressed in act two’.

Franco Milazzo for BroadwayWorld, ‘the silliness is off the scale and the lexicon of laughs is explored every which way. There’s some excellent punning, running jokes and fantastical physical feats’. Tom Wicker in Time Out described it as ‘low-hanging fruit, of course, but ramped up by Mischief Theatre’s trademark ability to spin seemingly minor mishaps into total comedy meltdowns. Director Matt Dicarlo handles these set-pieces and Shields and Lewis’s penchant for fast-moving wordplay deftly, allowing us half a knowing wink before whisking us on to the characters’ next blunder.’

‘It is impossible not to be swept along by the giddily escalating mirth of Matt DiCarlo’s amiable production,’ claimed Fiona Mountford in the i.

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Alun Hood for WhatsOnStage had a more lukewarm response: ‘it’s crowd-pleasing stuff, if seldom as inspired as the best of the “….Goes Wrong” franchise that first put Mischief on the map,’ said . He explained, ‘The material is weaker than the structure and mechanics.’ Holly O’Mahony at The Stage felt that ‘while the physical comedy is impeccably executed, the bare-bones story it’s running on will leave some craving a little more substance.’ In her opinion, ‘loyal fans of the company won’t be disappointed. It’s pure escapism: it doesn’t make you think and you’ll see the jokes coming before they land.’

Critics’ average rating 4.1 ★

Value rating 48 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price)

The Comedy About Spies is at the Noel Coward theatre until 5 September 2025. Buy tickets from the producers here.

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