REVIEW: SPY MOVIE: THE PLAY! At The Hope Theatre 5 - 23 December 2023
“really hits the spot” ★★★★
Spy Movie: The Play! essentially can’t go wrong; the premise, inherent in the title, is that a screenwriter and producer are putting on the movie they want to make – an ill-disguised rip-off of the James Bond franchise – as a play in a tiny pub theatre in Islington. The result is as fun as it sounds. Inflated Hollywood egos meet faulty props and a convoluted plot in which a writer called Ian Flemish is roped into helping the spy Jane Blond thwart some evildoers. High points include the musical title sequence, a chase scene on skis, and a trip to space.
The cast gives off the air of having a wonderful time while pulling off a really impressive range of accents and comedic bits. Jo Hartland as The Actress plays a hilariously po-faced Jane Blond, Emily Waters as The Writer and Jack Michael Stacey as The Actor are very funny as a range of wacky characters, and Theo Toksvig-Stewart as The Producer propels the show forward with his character’s enthusiastic but terrible ideas. This is a play that sets out to milk its premise to its limits, and it succeeds admirably. This really hits the spot on a rainy wintry night.
Spy Movie: The Play!, written and directed by Matthew Howell and Jack Michael Stacey, Hope Theatre, 5-23 December, https://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/spy-movie-the-play/
Reviewed by Clio Doyle
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre