Theatre Review: Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright

This is spoiler-free review.

In one episode of Inside Number Nine, two old comedians are bickering. In a moment of understated savagery one says to the other "That's a cheap laugh, Len."

Len replies with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Oh, come on. A laugh's a laugh however you earn it."

That sets up the central tension for the West-End-Spectacular version of the show - Stage/Fright.

What makes for a "cheap" scream of terror? It's easy to have a jump scare, or an on-stage explosion. The audience will shriek but then quickly descend into giggle as they realise how embarrassingly naïve they've been.

How do you ratchet up the tension on-stage? What call-backs work as well for tickling your funny bone and chilling you to the bone?

Stage/Fright balances all of that perfectly. For every "cheap" laugh there's a belly-laugh which has been well and truly earned. For every made-you-jump there's a scene of creeping dread. For every little jab at a theatrical folly, there's a deep cut of West End satire.

Pemberton and Shearsmith are delightfully generous to their outstanding cast. A script which could so easily have been dominated by their double-act is, instead, handed over graciously which gives the cast a real chance to shine.

It is an excellent show. Funny, scary, tense, wry, and affectionate. If you can manage to scrounge a ticket, I urge you to do so.

Mild Spoilers

I was initially underwhelmed by the show. After the cold-open is a beat-for-beat recreation of the episode "Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room". It was good, but felt like I was watching a "best of" stage show. I was worried that the whole show would be rehashes of old episodes. Thankfully no! In context, it was remarkable how well integrated the story was.

My wife and I saw it on different nights, so we were able to compare notes about what we saw. Some of the bits I thought were genuinely part of the show turned out to be actual flubs - whereas something I thought was a flub was deliberate.

Pre- and Post-Show

As I continue to whinge about, theatres need to up their game in terms of getting people in the mood. The inside of Wyndham's Theatre is devoid of props, photos, or anything related to the show. The standard programme is a measly affair with most of the pages dedicated to the history of the theatre rather than the show. There's an expensive deluxe programme with more content. There's nothing to do in the interval other than queue for inadequate toilets and overpriced drinks.

Where's the build up? Why aren't there social objects to take a selfie with? What can be done to make people feel like this is a better experience than watching TV? How do you encourage people to see the theatre as an exciting and vital venue that they want to come back to?

A well-hyped show like this doesn't have any trouble putting bums on seats. But they could at least make some effort to make the audience feel special.