Groan Ups - Mischief Theatre, Vaudeville Theatre

The "2hrs 10 including interval" running time seriously needs to be looked at - as previously posted, this was 2hrs 45 tonight. To their credit this did include a 27 minute interval due to a "large set change" (which was very prop heavy in changes but in all honesty I struggle to see why it took that long).

There's a very good core play here, with Mischief clearly edging towards comedy with an emotional hook rather than out-and-out farce as they mature.

Cuts do definitely need to occur, however there are some fantastic moments here. Definitely feels on a par with the first preview of Comedy About A Bank Robbery, from my recollection.

More spoilery thoughts buried inside the spoiler tag.. 



I'm heading back shortly after press night, will be interesting to see what changes have been made in the meantime. Well worth a visit, just expect a straighter comedy than Bank Robbery.

Culturally, this is clearly designed to match the Mischief team's ages. As I am one year younger than they are, I got a lot out of this.

Also, buy the programme - it has a lot of very good reading material, makes a great change from most commercial programmes!

The second half is objectively much stronger both in terms of writing and acting (the primary school stuff felt like extended improv) but the entire first half is non-stop laughs, and the second is mostly serious drama with the odd gag thrown in. Some bits in the second half are very funny, but I was surprised how dark and serious it got. Kudos to Mischief for trying something different and not being afraid to allow scenes of real emotional drama breathing space. But a surprise to find myself suddenly watching a Pinter play with hamsters after being barely able to breathe in act 1 from laughing so hard.

The core five are certainly extremely talented actors.

I’m intrigued - are there really hamsters or is this an autocorrect gremlin?

Curiouser and curioser! I’m going next week so I’ll just stay intrigued until then. :-)

As my London theatre binge week continues, I attended today’s matinee (thank you Mischief theatre and your Sunday shows!). A really enjoyable afternoon spent at the Vauderville theatre. It’s certainly different to their traditional “Goes wrong” productions, but the fact that MT have gone in a different direction in this production is welcomed by me and on the whole does work. Certainly, like others who have already seen it, I’d agree that of the two Acts, the second is a much stronger act both in terms of writing and performance by the Mischief gang and has a much more emotional depth to proceedings that their other work previously hasn’t shown.

In relation to Act 1, I thought the first scene was actually the better of the two scenes in this Act, and maybe the second scene didn’t work quite as well for me ( though there are still some great gags here) and could possibly be tweaked whilst still in previews.

As with their other work, the gags (physical and verbal) are never ending and in the audience I was sat in with today, they all seemed to land well enough. The on going hamster joke really was well done and to be able to sustain it for 2hrs 45minutes is to be congratulated.

I was sat in stalls C7 today I felt that I got an excellent view of the on stage proceedings.

Definitely recommended!

I asked on Friday & was also told no. However Stasia spotted that on Sunday some tickets were re-priced downwards on Nimax's website a few hours before the performances so it looks like there's some dynamic pricing happening at least, if no official day seats.

For me, Mischief does it again, as this is a very funny show, a kind of comedy version of Michael Apted's legendary "7 Up" series of documentaries, in which Apted tested Aristotle's motto: "Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man." There are ladles of farce, but also sentiment, as characters are better defined than in previous shows. And by defining characters better, Mischief set up deeper and more meaningful laughs down the line, which play alongside the purely farcical elements, laughs based on an audience's recognition of real human foibles and the expression of character through action. A 4 star comedy, for me, even now, in previews!

Some spoilers follow. . .

There are three acts, two before the interval ("Mischief as little kids" and "Mischief as teenagers"), and one after ("Mischief as the titular "Groan Ups.") As in the Apted documentary, groan-inducing childhood traits make for groan-inducing adult traits.

The first act is the least funny, ironically because it is the least sentimental. This is because only once believable character traits are established for each character, can comic and dramatic threads be strung along and played by the plotting. And in the first act, the characters are too broad and cliched to be believable, so what you get is a lot of loud and sometimes successful comic bits and much farce.

Still, the players themselves cover a multitude of sins, even in that first third of the show, as they bring with them their own indelible comic traits: Henry Lewis still booms and roars, Jonathan Sayers still pips and squeaks, Henry Shields still ducks and dives, Charlie Russell still acts and reacts to every plot point with more varied comic facial expressiveness than some of the best comedians in the business, and Dave Hearn still effortlessly conjures his inherent likeability, even if this time it is to utterly subvert it, twice, in two clever ways.

And Nancy Zamit, well, she is the secret weapon of this piece, as every time other characters get sentimental, she subverts them by remaining relentlessly sociopathically narcissistic, thus undercutting any lulls in the comic energy on stage.

For me, Henry Lewis is the most naturally funny comedian, an irrepressible ball of comic action, and Charlie Russell, the second most naturally funny comedian, an irrepressible ball of comic reaction. But God, do Jonathan Sayers, as Mr Squeak, and Nancy Zamit as Ms Shriek, give them a run for their money in this one.

And Shields, having shown himself the most excellent actor, in Bank Robbery, by being genuinely frightening, here reaches furthest into subtle and poignant sentiment.

Overall, despite the first act not quite being up to speed yet, the second and third are both beautifully constructed and equally loaded with laughs, and this piece is far funnier than I expected, given that it contains the offputting word "Groan" in the title, and doesn't include the enticing words "Goes Wrong."

This lot remain a comic joy, and are the heart of new British Comedy (the kind that makes you laugh)! 4 stars.

They said that the main cast barely knew their lines, never mind the covers, so I guess maybe she felt the most prepared. She was very good.

The scene change seems to involve the entire floor of the stage being overlaid, (needed for one gag later), so I suppose that’s what was taking the time - they must have got quicker at doing it.

There tonight. Bag check that rivals Heathrow. They really must invest in the wand if they wanna do this and the preshow music is so loud I’ve had to retreat to foyer until it starts. I’ve complained. It is only mixed pop stuff so why so insanely loud. Never heard the like before. Manager says I’m not the only one and they have already turned it down. But he has another one of those faceless conversations.

Some seriously good comic writing and touches. But structure all over the place. I’m told they have cut 20 mins already but they need to cut at least 10 from the first section which had a few dips anyway, at least 10 from teen section and yes, also cut from the last section which was the best. The scene change between 1&2 was dire. Invest in more people or some quick flick over boards and wheels for furniture. The set didn’t look right for 13/14 year olds to me. Too junior.
Was it sentimental at the end? Would someone have understood so readily twenty years ago? In some ways this had a serious message: nurture/ education don’t do much.
I’m looking forward to the Magic Show. These guys are super talented and it is really good that they decided to go for live theatre and not tv stuff. Good on ‘em