Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Bryony Corrigan, Dave Hearn, Chris Leask, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit.
Croquet, in the words of Progressive Rock legend Peter Gabriel, “Is a particularly vicious sport” and as the mallet falls through the air and crashes into the head of the family maid, Mrs Hargreaves, one cannot but fail to appreciate just how the team behind The Goes Wrong Show have become, in one short season on television, the theatre team that have conquered the stage and the cameras with apparent ease.
The period drama, Harper’s Locket, is a tremendous example of how the team works with the idea of subverting a genre without causing offence, instead it offers the sideways look at just how to take a joke to the edge without leaving it to topple into obscurity, the aforementioned gag of a loose mallet head setting up the whole play as one of irreverent reverence, beset with exceptional timing and one that was unafraid to show just how a small theatre company is often run, the petty jealousy, the wish to outshine the other cast members, and being, quite often more resilient to the mishaps and mayhem that can strike at any moment.
As with the tackling of a ghost story in the previous episode of the series, the period drama is one that often comes under the spotlight of the audience’s glare, the certain understanding of the etiquette required and for the incredible cast, especially for Nancy Zamit in this particular outing and the dealing of a piano with a mind of its own and a cat out for vengeance, the chance to perform with all the mischief possible is one of excellence and fruitfulness.
The deconstruction and destruction of the genre is arguably not the point of the play but as each subtle tweak is given its own space to be admired, the viewer cannot but help remember the enormous space left behind in the sad passing of Monty Python’s Terry Jones; anarchy is comedy’s secret weapon and the flame passed is one that will burn bright as long as theatre groups such as Mischief are given their time on television, as long as they remember what fine comic minds such as Terry Jones rammed home with pleasure.
Ian D. Hall