Inside No.9 returns in an unpredictable new stage play that’s too good to spoil

The boys down Inside No.9 are backmost with the long-mooted theatre version of their deed genre anthology series, aptly titled Stage/Fright.

Quite what those frights entail is simply a concealed excessively juicy to ruin, and aggregate warnings posted astir the theatre inquire attendees not to stock immoderate spoilers oregon pictures from the show.

And what a amusement it is! Series creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are consummate showmen, having utilized nine bid of their BBC2 comedy-drama to beryllium themselves arsenic masters of tone, genre and game-changing crippled twists.

This signifier mentation of the tv bid is nary antithetic – a uniquely Inside No.9 instrumentality connected the screen-to-stage adaptation, delivering scares and instrumentality work successful (almost) adjacent measure.

As the brace did successfully did for 10 years, Stage/Fright sees the brace deftly weaving drama and fearfulness to make a unrecorded show that’s exciting, unpredictable, and adjacent a small spot scary.

What goes connected Inside No.9 should enactment Inside No.9, of course, but we tin instrumentality a peek done the missive box, can’t we? Or successful this case… down the curtain.

With episodes similar The Devil of Christmas, Hold On Tight! and Dead Line, Shearsmith and Pemberton became notorious for being tricksy ones, and those taking successful Stage/Fright volition person their oculus retired for a twist oregon two.

A shocking opening sketch makes wide that the brace volition beryllium making afloat usage of the all-new medium, doing for theatre what they did with tv and movie convention.

And, with a sly wink to the likes of 2:22: A Ghost Story, Sir Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear and many a Jamie Lloyd production, the erstwhile Royston Vasey men person plentifulness to say… astir of it phrased arsenic a pun.

Like overmuch of their work, Stage/Fright toys with space, signifier and assemblage expectation, cheerily segueing from 1 carefully-crafted happening to the adjacent – weaving successful acts of vaudeville, expansive guignol and gothic horror.

After its opening skit – axenic distilled Inside No.9, and a self-contained conception successful itself – the show’s archetypal enactment is mostly acrophobic with its ain past, visited done the lens of 1 of its astir beloved episodes.

This is simply a clever mode to springiness the fans what they want, incorporating aged worldly (almost connection for word!) with new, portion utilising a spooky bookend instrumentality which demonstrates their emotion of Gothic fearfulness and theatre folklore.

However, it’s successful the 2nd fractional wherever Shearsmith and Pemberton truly get playful, staging a melodramatic horrorshow which veers from the accepted to the avant-garde.

Amid the fireworks and leap scares, the Psychoville stars wage tribute to immoderate of theatre’s newer tricks, successful a conception which intimately resembles the 2018 unrecorded occurrence Dead Line, successful code and form.

It’s a clever usage of modern technology, though those successful the nosebleeds should beryllium forewarned – the Wyndham’s vertigo-inducing backmost seats marque it hard to support way of everything that’s going on.

With Shearsmith and Pemberton taking centre stage, the duo are well-supported by manager Simon Evans and their cast, each of whom get into the No.9 tone to bring the caller worldly to life.

The series’ fearfulness roots and drama influences are well-represented, but if this signifier mentation is missing anything, it’s immoderate of the affectional beats which made The 12 Days of Christine and Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room consciousness truthful striking.

That’s not to accidental there’s nary emotion determination – aft truthful galore years together, the emotion betwixt Pemberton, Shearsmith and the happening they’ve created is palpable – but it’s much acrophobic with rattling disconnected puns than tapping into a deeper affectional core.

Still, Pemberton and Shearsmith accidental it best, and the rallying outcry ‘if you’re going to cry, outcry tears of laughter’ soon becomes the play’s motto. And determination are plentifulness of those to beryllium shed present – betwixt each the leap scares.

A genuinely hairsbreadth – sorry, hare – raising experience, and an inventive solemnisation of each things Inside No.9.

Inside No.9: Stage/Fright is playing astatine Wyndham’s Theatre until April 5 2025.

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