The Comedy About Spies at Adelphi Theatre Review
The Comedy About Spies production image. Photo by Mark Senior.
Creating a truly excellent comedy is no easy task. Some productions wear the label of comedy yet leave audiences feeling slightly baffled or awkward. Then some leave you equally baffled while making it impossible not to laugh. The Comedy About Spies, created by Mischief Theatre, belongs firmly to the latter category. Founded in 2008, the company is best known for works including The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. Returning to the West End in 2026, The Comedy About Spies once again features a script by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields and direction by Matt DiCarlo, with much of the original West End cast returning. Bryony Corrigan joins the company as Elena Popova. In this production, Mischief takes the “Goes Wrong” comic method it knows best and transports it into the world of 1960s spy cinema.
A British defector steals an extremely classified weapons design, codenamed Project Midnight. MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, the CIA, and the KGB all begin searching for the document, while the various agents operating under disguise converge on London’s Piccadilly Hotel. However, each of them is more unreliable than the last. Meanwhile, the hotel is also occupied by a genuine young couple, an unknown actor who has arrived to audition for a spy film, and a collection of people whose identities are anything but clear. As this assortment of characters becomes increasingly entangled in the espionage operation, the story grows ever more irresistibly comic.
The set design can be regarded as the backbone of the production. David Farley creates a world that feels almost like a comic book. The most memorable feature is undoubtedly the four exquisitely detailed hotel rooms, each distinguished by green, yellow, orange, and blue and occupied by different groups of characters. By effectively cutting open the walls of the hotel, the set makes full use of the audience’s omniscient perspective. Watching characters react to situations they do not understand leaves almost no room for boredom. Beyond the hotel rooms, the many locations used throughout the pursuit are equally inventive. Small props such as newspapers, umbrellas, and bottles are used with great ingenuity. Combined with Johanna Town’s lighting changes, these scenes become even more vivid, while the lighting also guides the audience’s attention with remarkable precision.
The choice and development of the characters are equally intelligent. Henry Lewis is particularly outstanding as Douglas Woodbead. Completely absorbed in his own world, he is utterly focused on preparing for his audition. He is serious, somewhat temperamental, and yet surprisingly endearing. Henry Shields’s Bernard Wright, a baker by trade, is innocent, gentle, nervous, and almost incapable of hiding anything, making him a striking contrast to his partner Rosemary Wilson, played by Adele James. Throughout the production, Rosemary remains clear headed, rational and mature. Another pair of characters could hardly be more different. Dave Hearn’s Lance Buchanan of the CIA is only moderately competent but extraordinarily confident. He is somewhat macho and eager to perform, yet carries himself with complete seriousness. His mother, Janet Buchanan, played by Nancy Zamit, is fiery and forceful. At first she appears to be an overprotective mother, but in reality she is constantly questioning her son’s judgment. Another partnership is formed by Chris Leask’s Sergei Ivanov, who is guileless and single minded, and Bryony Corrigan’s Elena Popov, who is rational and capable but not particularly good at improvisation. Then there is Albert Tipton, played by Greg Tannahill. Even his attempt to keep the hotel operating, as he rushes around in a state of polite panic with a smile on his face, is entertaining in itself. Some of the characters occasionally verge on familiar stereotypes, but the chemistry between them brings the ensemble vividly to life and gives the production an energy that is difficult to resist.
The production is filled with misunderstandings, puns, physical comedy, and a wealth of absurd yet wonderfully entertaining images. During scene changes, the audience may find Albert standing cheerfully in the corridor holding a frame for Employee of the Year. When Bernard climbs through the lift shaft, a projection gradually changes from a display showing the floors to warnings telling him to beware of falling, before eventually addressing him directly and telling him not to do it because he is only a baker. At other moments, an unmistakably obvious dummy is sent flying through the air, while an actor throws himself onto the spot where it has just landed. I found myself both astonished by this slightly silly brand of humour and unable to suppress my laughter. Even when some of the transitions feel a little long or repetitive, they do little to diminish what makes the production so enjoyable.
Within just five minutes, I had entered this much lighter world. The actors commit themselves completely to the comedy while maintaining an entirely serious demeanour, and their chemistry keeps the pace of the story perfectly tight. Even when you can predict what is about to happen, it is still impossible not to laugh when it unfolds right in front of you. When a character who has seemingly been forgotten suddenly reappears, the moments that follow are often among the most enjoyable of the entire show. Most unexpectedly, however, I found myself genuinely moved near the end, when Douglas has an unusually simple conversation with Rosemary and Bernard. The brief moments in which several characters allow their emotions to settle create a sense of sincerity that feels unexpectedly real and touching. Personally, I find The Comedy About Spies more finely crafted than The Play That Goes Wrong. If what you want is to switch off, relax, and spend a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the theatre, this is an excellent choice.
The Comedy About Spies runs at Adelphi Theatre until 26th September 2026.
★★★★
Written by Ziwen for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
