Performance: 11 May 2025 @ 2.30pm *This post may contain spoilers.*
The Comedy About Spies is the latest creation by award winning Mischief Theatre Company and setting the stage ablaze with clever jokes, impeccable acting and captivating story. Set in London, 1961 at the London Piccadilly Hotel this spy themed comedy follows a hapless actor hoping to be the next James Bond, Russian and CIA spies and a clueless baker trying to propose to his girlfriend and thus ensues a series of scene of miscommunication, hilarious back and forth and double… quadruple crossing agents all in this action packed and fun filled show. I’m a big fan of the Mischief Theatre Company and have pretty much seen all their productions in the last 10 years give or take. They always deliver on the witty and clever writing and impeccable acting. The one thing that really stands out with original founders of the company who star in the shows is their ability to bounce off one another. They easily play on each other’s strengths which creates a cohesive performance. I love their Goes wrong shows and I particularly enjoyed the 2016 The Comedy About a Bank Robbery so I had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint.
Right from the start the story was engaging and the humour was just electric on stage. In my opinion the show is very much Fawlty Towers meets Pink Panther meets Johnny English that plays on the references to James Bond and all those 1960s Cold War spy films. What was done very well was having almost four different storylines and characters with very much separate plots and backstories suddenly converge and become entangled in this one story. It was very clever how well all these stories interlinked as well as being funny. This show takes all the best and signature humour and delivers. The staging was a massive part of the show and one that was so clever that had all these parallel hotel rooms all linked up by the a series of mishaps and miscommunication. I loved the way the scenes were portrayed with moving floors – one in particular included the bumbling Bernard, who is reluctantly drawn into espionage, is walking through a corridor and all sorts of nonsense is taking place in the background. Other elements like the classic fight scenes of spy thrillers where you have spy on spy combat was so well crafted that took a usually very intense moment and made it slapstick and entertaining. The staging is always so impressive with any Mischief show I’ve seen and is also slightly daring with hanging from windows or playing around with how the stage can be manipulated. This is particular interesting where the stage is divided into four rooms stacked on top of each other and forms the basis of the majority of the first act. There is so much going happening on stage that draws the audience into this quirky world.
Every point the twists and turns kept me engaged and although I could see some twist coming, other I didn’t and this is what makes this show so special. It takes all those familiar elements of the spy films and puts a Mischief twist on it to it make it funny, light hearted but also a well cohesive production. I loved the play on words that mixed spy acronyms with baking terms or things that bend that have the same letters as say KGB but is actually a reference to a baking association. Acting was superb and the only real props were minor it was the way the characters were embodied that really shined through. I loved the quirky characters that had long running jokes throughout and really made the show such a delight. I will say that some scenes felt as if they ran on too long and could do with tightening up. But as the show has only opened in April I’m sure things could change.
Overall, The Comedy About Spies delivers with all the Mischief Theatre charm with clever writing, witty and playful humour and fantastic acting. I think there needs to be more humour on the west end stage that doesn’t take itself too seriously. That is what I love about Mischief Theatre productions, they are not afraid to make fun of themselves on stage and lean into their strengths as an ensemble. I have to say the Piccadilly Hotel is maybe not the place to stay if you don’t want holes in the walls… and ceilings, exploding bottles of Shiraz but is definitely full of excitement and humour! But it is definitely a show to see if you want just over 2 hours of comedy. I can’t wait to see what Mischief Theatre creates next, I know for sure I’ll be first in line.
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and is currently working on a YA fantasy novel. For more content click here to read book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey.
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