What’s it all about?
The most outrageously dysfunctional, neurotic, irritating and pretentious theatre company and its attempts to stage a new play by a writer with a passion for ridiculous rewrites.
In the first act we’re invited into rehearsals where the utterly directionless director Evelyn flamboyantly flips and struts his way round the room ignoring the war cries of his increasingly annoyed actors.
Cue inappropriate inter-actor relationships, a stage manager on the verge of a nervous breakdown and the most outlandish stage directions you’ve ever heard as they attempt to react “like a sad clown hit with a custard pie of truth” or look as “awkward as an ill-fitting cloak on a hunchback”.
Even with errant monkeys on run, actors on the phone to Equity and one cast member unable to retain his lines, the show must go on. Enter act two when the final draft of the play is revealed to us in all its splendid, terrible glory.
Who’s in it?
A cast who are hammier than spam. In a good way. Ben Starr is gratingly irritating and joyfully ridiculous all at the same time as the feckless director. Hatty Preston shines as Gemma, a fresh-out-of-drama-school actress, giving a superbly earnest and poker-faced performance as the green performer. She, alongside Adam Riches as an actor as equally egomaniacal as handsy, provide the most laughs.
What should I look out for?
Those lurid stage directions, a dash of audience participation – never fear, you’ll not be asked to get involved but someone may well end up landing in your lap – and an unexpected appearance by Banksy. Sort of.
In a nutshell?
Noises Off with a monkey on the loose, The Play That Goes Wrong with an R rated script; farce fans, new stage disasters await you in the West End.
What’s being said on Twitter?
Just been to see @StopThePlay which you ALL MUST GO SEE. Brilliant way to celebrate my birthday. Well done @spicerd, @johnschwab et al.
— Emily Richardson (@emjric) June 4, 2015
‘Stop! The Play’ @TrafStudios is fist-bitingly funny. An uproarious and tear-inducing send-up of everything bad about bad theatre.
— James Waygood (@GrumpyGayCritic) June 3, 2015
Will I like it?
It takes skill to write a truly terrible play and David Spicer succeeds brilliantly. With the play within the play that is. If you enjoy laughing at people falling over, find theatrical clichés hilarious or love disaster comedy where everything that can go wrong will, then this is for you.
Stop!… The Play is playing until 27 June. You can book tickets through the Trafalgar Studios website.