“The Comedy About Spies” at Noël Coward Theatre
Kat Mokrynski in the West End
15 May 2025
After celebrating ten years of The Play That Goes Wrong in the West End, Mischief has brought their newest show to the Noël Coward Theatre. Written by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields (who also star in the show) and directed by Matt DiCarlo, The Comedy About Spies brings audiences back in time to the 1960s as the Cold War was raging between the United States and the Soviet Union (and their allies). When an important file, Project Midnight, goes missing, all of the top spy agencies scramble to recover it in London, where it is rumoured that a British turncoat from MI6 will be transferring the briefcase to the KGB.
Most of the show is set at the Piccadilly Hotel, where spies from both the CIA (Dave Hearn and Nancy Zamit) and KGB (Chris Leask and Charlie Russell) are waiting for the handover of Operation Midnight, which contains information about a deadly weapon that could decimate an entire population. Unfortunately for the spies, there are a number of obstacles in their way, including an unassuming British couple, Bernard Wright (Shields) and Rosemary Wilson (Adele James), an overly eager hotel manager, Albert Tipton (Greg Tannahill), and an actor determined to get the role of James Bond in a new film based on the Ian Fleming novels, Douglas Woodbead (Lewis). As you can imagine, chaos ensues.
David Farley has created a simple yet effective set, with the majority of the scenes taking place in either the Piccadilly Hotel’s lobby or in four of its rooms, which are set up in an almost video game-like style – each consisting of one major colour and lighting up when scenes are happening in that particular room. I would have liked a little more detail in the set, but it works for this particular play and allows for a range of stunts and magic tricks to be performed. The costumes, designed by Deborah Andrews, place the performers right into the world of the 1960s – including bellhop uniforms and the “classic” spy outfit of trench coat, umbrella, and hat.
Each of the performers brings their own talents to the different roles. Zamit and Hearn are delightful as the mother–son spy duo of Lance and Janet Buchanan, with convincing American accents and a believable dynamic between them. Hearn gets to show off some of his physical abilities with some over-the-top spy missions and Zamit plays the classic overprotective mother role with perfection – the only exception being this mother is a bit trigger-happy! The Russian-accented Leask and Russell are also an entertaining pair as Sergei Ivanov, an incompetent (to the point of being adorable) strongman, and Elena Popov, who seems to have a Black Widow-like origin story that keeps her from making friends with anyone. The spies are joined by Bernard (Shields), a baker who has some exciting plans for the holiday trip to London with his girlfriend Rosemary (James), who is at the hotel for a work conference and has something she needs to tell Bernard before the trip ends.
One of the highlights of The Comedy About Spies is how it uses multiple forms of comedy – not just the slapstick one might expect after seeing a Goes Wrong show. From tongue twisters to physical comedy, the cast has the audience in tears of laughter, with one particular joke about Bernard and his bakery getting what felt like minutes of applause alone. As this is a spy play, there are a lot of misunderstandings around code names and bugged hotel rooms, as well as some hilarious (and impressive!) stunts involving body doubles and doors. Movement director Shelley Maxwell does an excellent job of keeping the show in motion, ensuring that while there is absolute chaos unfolding on the stage, everything is precisely done. The same can be said for fight director Greg Tannahill, who certainly has experience with the world of Mischief and can contribute that knowledge to the more dramatic moments in the show. Tannahill is also a riot as Tipton, jumping over tables and chairs in order to appease those staying at the Piccadilly Hotel in a desperate attempt to keep the hotel’s four-star rating.
Mischief take on a fresh genre to parody in The Comedy About Spies that does a good job of combining the company’s classic style of comedy with a heartfelt and intriguing plot, making for an entertaining couple of hours in the theatre.
