12.98°C Audiences are really looking to be entertained at the moment, with the state of the world meaning that theatre can offer a welcome refuge for a little while. This new comedy, presented by Two Moons and performed at the Headgate Theatre during the Colchester Fringe, spoofs military operations in World War Two.
The action takes place in London and Spain as our “heroes” from MI6 unleash “Operation Chestnut Stuffing,” a ludicrous plot aiming to dupe the Nazis into believing that a hugely significant (and entirely untrue) military operation is being planned. Meanwhile, a parallel story becomes intertwined with the spy games – the desperate search for renowned playwright and poet Federico García Lorca, who was seized by a fascist gang during Spain’s civil war a few years earlier. It’s dangerously close to echoing the highly successful musical Operation Mincemeat, and it feels like that show is a major influence here.
Staged as a radio play, the cast hold their scripts and enact the characters in front of microphones. However, it also stages moments visually, which leaves it falling between two stools. The comedy isn’t always as sharp as it could be, and if the show is to be developed, it really needs to commit to one genre or the other. The funniest sequence involved a madcap race to Spain, with sound effects recorded live in a Foley format- the traditional technique of creating sounds by hand, using everyday props on stage. The Lorca strand also feels like a distraction, although creator Charlie Davison does bring the stories together effectively in the conclusion.
This is to take nothing away from a cast that commit fully to the show, with Sasha Halls stealing it as Gloria Cashcoin, the real brains behind the plot. Malcolm Kimmance and Kyren M-Bryan join her in making the MI6 scenes the most fun, with a good running gag about the agents inventing spy equipment, such as the mobile phone. Director Maddy Smith keeps the pace moving well, and as a comedy, the play succeeds in entertaining its audience.
Review by Paul T. Davies, Theatre Editor, Keep Colchester Cool
