Inside No. 9/Stage Fright at Wyndham’s Theatre
Franco Milazzo in the West End
30 January 2025
The beginning isn’t the beginning. The end isn’t the end. And if you think you know what’s about to happen, more fool you. Like every episode of Inside No. 9, this stage spin-off of the long-running TV anthology series has more twists and turns than a journey through IKEA. The macabre comedy show which ran for 55 episodes over ten years may have – like more than a few of its characters – come to an untimely demise but its writers and stars Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith aren’t done yet with their beloved creation.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner.
Stage/Fright doesn’t skimp on either parts of its eponymous premise. The opening scene is a wonderfully demented take on theatre etiquette that whets the palate for what is to come. The cardinal sins shamelessly seen up and down Shaftesbury Avenue are gleefully mocked and lampooned: there’s overly complex plotting with a play within a play (within a play), the overuse of screens (including a direct nod to Sheridan Smith and the disastrous Opening Night), a gratuitous appearance by a celebrity (Matthew Kelly on press night), cheeky meta touches, grumbles about those damnable critics, a raft of cheesy puns, and references to people and events that no-one under fifty would recognize, never mind appreciate.
And then there are the horror elements. These aren’t as cleverly parodied but there’s enough here to recognize more than a few culprits, not least the lashings of the kind of cheap audio and visual effects that haven’t stopped 2:22: A Ghost Story from being a runaway success (“Put a pop star in a horror story? That will never work!” one of Shearsmith’s characters opines). The acting in a Grand Guignol scene is pure pastrami (hammy yet beefy) and so far over the top it probably needed permission from air traffic control. Blackouts and jump scares are sorely overused – but maybe that’s the point.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner.
There are plenty of references to old episodes either through props – not least an ominous green wardrobe – or within the narrative but there’s no need to bone up on the series before seeing Stage/Fright. Shearsmith and Pemberton (plus a supporting cast) take audiences new and old on a journey punctuated by hairpin bends and leaps into the unknown. Gags and plot points seen a mile off are usually only milestones on the way to something darker. The pair are not alone in being twisty storytellers but, unlike most, they are highly talented in making us invested in the situations even as they mercilessly shift our conceptions and allegiances this way and that.
With all the Easter eggs planted throughout both acts, this show could be perceived as a coda to the series. It’s clear, though, that the writers don’t see it that way. One of the constant themes running through both acts is ghosts: famous theatre hauntings are listed (including Wyndham’s itself), a ghost light placed centre stage serves as a luminous ward against the supernatural, and gory ghouls in white sheets pop up every now and then. Ultimately, though, this all serves as a subtle pointer to what has become of the series: even though it may be considered dead on the small screen, it is still very much among the living albeit in this different form.
Directed by Simon Evans and designed by Grace Smart, Stage/Fright is on a par with the critically acclaimed TV series and the writing alone is sufficient to guarantee its success long after it leaves Wyndham’s. Whether that means going on the road, a sequel, or both is unknown but it is highly unlikely that this is the last time we poke our heads inside no. 9.
