Theatre Review: The Comedy About Spies

The Comedy About Spies is a new show by the Mischief Comedy team, which will have you laughing the entire way through the play.

Last Saturday, my family and I took a trip to London to see The Comedy About Spies at the Noel Coward Theatre. We bought tickets for my dad's birthday, knowing that we would all enjoy the show.

Previously, we've seen The Play That Goes Wrong and have a DVD of it. We also saw a sketch from The Comedy About Spies on the Royal Variety Show.

We loved the short sketch so much that we just had to see it in the West End. And it did not disappoint.

Our trip to the theatre started with a short queue outside, where we bumped into some family friends. Once we were inside the gorgeous theatre, I went straight to the merchandise stand to buy myself a programme —I have a programme from every theatre show I've seen.

However, I was also intrigued by the other merch on sale. There was a variety, including tote bags, but I opted to buy the script for The Comedy About Spies. As a scriptwriting student, I thought it would be useful and having just seen the show, it'll be fresh in my mind as to what the on-stage portrayal looks like.

We took our seats, got refreshments, nipped to the toilets, and were ready for the show to begin.

The Comedy About Spies Review

The Comedy About Spies was a 2-hour and 15-minute stage show, including an interval. It was fast-paced, ingenious and full of hilarity.

The play is set in 1960s London and revolves around the mystery of a stolen top-secret file by a rogue British agent. The CIA and the KGB are sent to retrieve the file to stop the other from getting their hands on it.

During the mission to apprehend the rogue agent and retrieve 'Project Midnight', a young couple are experiencing problems, an actor is auditioning for James Bond, and a secret shopper is reviewing the Piccadilly Hotel. Thus, chaos ensues.

The Comedy About Spies begins with a scene of CIA agents, named after letters from the alphabet. There's Agent I, Agent O, Agent U, Agent C, Agent Y, and more. The confusion over these names and general English phrasing kicked off the show with great comedic effect.

As a writer, I loved how the dialogue of the script used play on words and sentences with ambiguous meanings. There were so many moments where I was sitting in awe of the actors, watching them deliver their lines with perfect timing.

The whole play is very cleverly written and executed incredibly.

Having seen The Play That Goes Wrong, I recognised most of the cast and knew that we were in for a real treat. But seeing The Comedy of Spies live was another experience.

These actors portrayed the characters so well. The entire audience oohed and ahhed and applauded.

There were even a couple of times when the audience felt sorry for a couple of characters because, whilst it is a comedy, there were heartfelt moments that brought other emotions to the surface.

The set designs were amazing, particularly the split-level cutaway of hotel rooms. I couldn't believe how intricately the actors moved around the stage whilst the set changed.

There's one scene in particular that I can vividly remember towards the start of the play when the rogue agent is being chased. That was some exceptional scriptwriting and execution.

Also, one of the characters played by Dave Hearn had some great stunts, including jumping over tables and being extracted from floorboards.

Every character in this play brought comedy. It wasn't just the protagonists; it was everyone. At points, there were times when a couple of the actors were laughing themselves and nearly losing character because they found it so funny, along with the audience.

I loved these moments because they just show how comical the play is and how joyful it is as well, because the actors find humour in it.

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Credit: WriteWatchWork

The Comedy About Spies is a 1960s Cold War spy thriller, but it is like no other. It is full of comedy, laughter and action.

If you fancy a good old laugh and want to see a show, then definitely go and see The Comedy About Spies. This was the second play I've seen that wasn't a musical, and it is one of the best shows I've seen in the West End.

The Mischief Theatre Group are incredible at their job. The scriptwriting, the set design, the acting, everything comes together to produce an excellent comedy with great twists at the end.

The Comedy About Spies can be seen at the Noel Coward Theatre in London, but only for a limited run until September 5th 2025. You can purchase tickets here.

Until next time...