King’s Theatre, Edinburgh – until 18 May 2019
Reviewed by James Knight
4****
Mischief Theatre, creators of Olivier award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, arrives in Edinburgh with The Comedy About A Bank Robbery. Immediately different from their previous shows in that it has nothing to do with the Cornley Polytechnic Society, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery takes everything to be enjoyed about previous Mischief shows, fast wordplay, extended slapstick and creative sets, and places them in an homage to 50s crime movies.
In Minneapolis, where ‘everyone’s a crook’, the City Bank is taking care of Prince Ludwig of Hungary’s Maguvin Diamond. So, naturally, it has to be stolen. Multiple elements are seamlessly woven together, with hardman Mitch Ruscitti (Liam Jeavons) breaking out of prison with the help of his idiotic guard Cooper (David Coomber). His girlfriend, Caprice (Julia Frith) has moved on since he was imprisoned, now scamming men into sending her cheques. Her father happens to be Robin Freeboys (here played by understudy Eddy Westbury), the manager of Minneapolis City Bank, and being a banker, is just as crooked as anyone else. Add in new love interest, a James Dean-alike conman Sam Monaghan (Seán Carey), helpless punching bag and intern for thirty years Warren Slax (Jon Trenchard) and a meddling FBI agent Randal Shuck (Killian Macardle), the stage is set for all sorts of mayhem.
There’s a lot to appreciate in the show – the verbal wordplay begins almost immediately, and doesn’t stop for the whole show. It’s the ‘Who’s on First’ variety show. Various running gags sprint through the entire show with seagulls, giant moustaches and Monaghan’s various identities as a lawyer-doctor-rabbi and more. Scenes are changed with impressive renditions of 50s songs, complete with all the doo-wap-a-doo and sha-boogie you could hope for.
Highlights include a manic game of charades to pass off one character as another, a seagull’s eye-view of an office and the actual diamond heist itself, as cast members dangle from the ceiling while singing ‘Hush-a-Bye Baby’. Credit also to George Hannigan as ‘Everyone Else’, who gets his moment to shine as every single one of Caprice’s various love interests at the same time.
While the characters may not be as carefully constructed as in other Mischief shows, let’s be honest, we’re here for the laughs and the outrageous set pieces, and boy, do they deliver. Hilarious, witty and clever, you’ve got nothing to lose except your valuables.