Jake Mace
Three MI5 agents infiltrate the life of a suspected criminal mastermind but find themselves tangled in knots as the personal lives of their fake personas become too complicated to keep up the act. Set over the sofa in their suspect’s flat, A Naff Play About Spies sees the characters stumble through a mission that seems set up to fail. In it’s best moments, the show delivers laugh-a-minute goofiness. Not every joke lands precisely as planned – but hey, that’s all covered in the concept, and the piece still rings with buckets of charm.
Natalia, the suspect in the case, seems to live an ordinary life with her girlfriend Steph, but MI5 suspect that she may be the ‘most dangerous woman in Britain’. It’s not ever fully explained what crimes she’s alleged to have committed before, however the show certainly takes twists and turns to explore her story, and leaves the audience in anticipation as to whether or not she’s guilty right up to the last moments. The Queer representation is genuinely lovely, and utilised well in jokes and asides throughout the story.
Our three spies range from those on their first espionage outing all the way up to those retiring on their final mission – but how many will make it out unscathed? While there isn’t an immediate sense of danger given almost all of the action takes place around a sofa, there is an immense playfulness and whimsy demonstrated throughout. From Truman Show-esque advertisements for their spy gadgets, to slapstick action sequences that see the spies roll and dive around each other, there’s not a moment wasted in trying to pull off a great gag.
Conceptually the comedic tension comes from two places – firstly Nat’s unawareness that her life is being invaded, and secondly from the supposed ‘naff-ness’. The naff-ness of the piece could be developed further – it’s unclear whether Collision Theatre are completely leaning into a ‘show gone wrong’ style, evidenced by fake moustaches falling off and the like, or if the fictionalised version of MI5 is supposed to be incompetent and failing to train its spies. The show’s content suggests more the latter. Essentially – this felt more like a ‘Play about Naff Spies‘ rather than a ‘Naff Play about Spies’.
Some other creative decisions are a bit unusual – it’s never really explained why the spies’ secret phone is located in a public bin, though they all do recognise the ludicrous nature of that, and the voiceover sections from ‘Headquarters’ feel a little bit drawn out and could be truncated to focus on the show’s comedic strengths, which really come from the great character comedy and well choreographed slapstick. The black-outs between scenes fragment the storyline a bit too much, distracting from the laugh-a-minute nature of the piece.
Steffan Eldridge’s Pat comes out as the most polished performance. Eldridge is an absolute scene stealer throughout, and he matches the well-written lines with hysterical facial expressions. The repeated gag of his moustache falling off sends the audience into fits of laughter throughout. Also highly commendable is Lennie Bryan’s Jack, who despite playing much older than she appears manages to carry the witful gravitas of the ‘old guard’ of the spy force over the duration.
An honourable mention – every time I mention this show to someone they presume I’m being a cruel theatre critic telling them that the play was ‘naff’, so I want it on the record that I had a blast watching this and I’m certain you will too. It’s fantastic that the title delivers a gag well after the runtime has ended.
Fast, funny & slickly delivered, this tasteful satire of spy drama offers up quality laughs throughout.
Recommended Drink: Grab yourself a whole bottle of wine and join Pat & Nat on the sofa for a night to forget.
You can catch A Naff Play About Spies until August 10th at theSpace @ Symposium Hall – Annexe from 23:15. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
