Review by Paul Towers, 11/3/25
Inside No 9/Fright Night by Steve Pemberton
& Reece Shearsmith
Directed by Simon Evans
Produced by Phil McIntyre Live
At Wyndham’s Theatre til Wednesday 2nd
April 2025
The first thing that has to be said about Inside
No 9/Fright Night is that you have to be a fan of, or at least have watched the
various works of Messrs Pemberton & Shearsmith. Otherwise you will miss so
much of the fun and horror of this stage version of Inside No 9.
Without giving too much away the stage opens
on a set of theatre seats where Shearsmith is trying to watch a performance of
Hamlet. As so many of us can testify there are always annoying audience members
that we would wish to berate. But, being British, all we do is tut. In
P&S’s alternative universe dire revenge is taken on these annoying patrons,
much to the approbation of the (real) audience. Stepping out of character our
two author/performers issue a not always tongue in cheek warning of what would
happen to disruptive audience members to thunderous applause.
Playing to an appreciative audience a lot of
the time the ‘sketches’ get darker and darker with some elements lifted almost
wholesale from the TV series, while others are completely new. Of especial note
has to be the almost entire sketch of Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room and, in
the second half, an horrific visit to an insane asylum.
Not only do we have the authors in starring
roles but there is also a very talented ensemble who back them up and, each
night, a surprise special guest. This means that new material has to be written
every night to accommodate them. My visit coincided with Chris
MacCausland’s appearance which, of
course, had to reference his win on Strictly and his blindness.
Along the way the pair poke fun at some of
theatreland’s peccadillos. The current trend of onstage live video feeds is sent
up and used to good effect when it goes on a backstage tour of the supposedly haunted
Wyndham’s Theatre. Some good natured tail tweaking of theatre managements,
artist agents and method actors ensures the laughs continue alongside the cries
of horror.
All in all this is everything and more that
you would expect from the team behind Inside No 9. Five stars all the way. A
shame it is sold out, but you have to get in quick for these popular limited
run shows.
https://www.wyndhamstheatre.co.uk/
https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/
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