Award-winning Mischief Theatre, the company behind hit West Ender The Play That Goes Wrong, bring yet another laugh-out-loud comedy to the Midlands this month... What’s On spoke to Artistic Director Henry Lewis about Mischief’s success and their currently touring show, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery...
It’s 1958 and Minneapolis is abuzz with news that City Bank has been charged with the protection of a priceless diamond. With an escaped convict, his girlfriend and sidekick, a maintenance man and even bank security all eyeing up the gem, what could possibly go wrong?...
Henry Lewis, writer of The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and co-founder of Mischief Theatre, shared a few words about the ‘side-splitting show’.
“We’ve taken inspiration from old Marx Brothers comedy, so in that way it’s that ‘screwball caper’ style of show. It has little references chucked in here and there, but obviously it’s completely original. I suppose it’s a farce at its core, but there’s a lot of physical comedy in there, combined with the verbal one-liners and the like.
“Bank Robbery is very different to our ‘Goes Wrong’ shows because it’s got a narrative to it. There are also a lot of impressive visuals and stunts as the robbery takes place, and there’s a really fun scene involving perspective. I don’t want to give too much away for audiences, but it’s quite film-like in its visuals.”
So why does Henry think the show has played so well with British audiences?
“Crime stories are quite popular, so I think Bank Robbery has fairly universal appeal because it does follow that plot - even if it’s a sillier version, rather than in a thriller style. We’ve tried to make it a very mainstream show, to give it that widespread appeal but with its own very unique style and quirks. It doesn’t require a huge amount of thought to watch - it’s just good fun and a good adventure for any audience to enjoy.”
Bank Robbery has also been a success in its licensed productions abroad, as Henry explains...
“The comedy is very physical, and I think that’s why it translates so well overseas. There have been various productions abroad. One is currently on in Paris, which is obviously quite different, but a lot of the physical side of the comedy is the same. It’s more universal than the verbal comedy, which is more often than not aimed at a particular audience, or makes presumptions about what the audience already knows. I think everyone just gets it and can laugh along.”
As artistic director at Mischief Theatre, Henry faces plenty of challenges, but as far as he’s concerned, the rewards make all the hard work worthwhile.
“I think creating works that are genuinely funny is one of the hardest things to do; it’s tricky, and the shows take an enormous amount of development. It’s my job to ensure that that’s always happening, but also to make certain that we’re always trying something new, coming up with new ideas and collaborating with different people. We have so many shows on at the moment - two shows currently running in the West End and three on tour - and we’re obviously always trying to develop new stuff. There’s such a lot on, so it can be stressful, but the rewards are just amazing. To see different people all over the world laughing at what we produce is incredible. With all the different things going on in our country and the world at the moment, it’s great that people come to our shows, forget their troubles and just sit and laugh. To be able to give people that escape at the theatre is a huge privilege.”
Henry attributes the success of Mischief Theatre to three simple things: faith in their work, a real drive to achieve and the spark between himself and his colleagues.
“We’ve made shows that we believe in, and worked really hard to put them out there. I think because a lot of us trained together at drama school - so we’d already been doing shows together for a long time - we had this shared chemistry that really helped us.”
Mischief Theatre’s ensemble format sees its members collaborating over many years to create a unique body of work.
“I would fully endorse the format we have at Mischief, particularly for youngsters leaving drama school because the industry is so hard to get work in. I would absolutely recommend that people form their own theatre companies with those connections they make along the way, and write, produce, direct and perform their own productions. I think it’s the greatest thing that people can be doing, whether that’s in-between jobs or as more of a full-time life choice, as it has been for us. Ensemble is very important and, I think, much more interesting. It’s given us far greater creative scope - we really have control over what we want to do. It’s such a treat to be able to write and produce your own stuff and see it through to the end. The creative freedom is definitely the most fulfilling aspect. I really can’t recommend it enough.”
And there are more exciting projects to come from Mischief in the near future...
“We’re currently writing for a TV show and a stage project, but I can’t tell you much more than that because it’s still very much a secret. But there will be news of those soon, I’m sure.”
Award-winning Mischief Theatre, the company behind hit West Ender The Play That Goes Wrong, bring yet another laugh-out-loud comedy to the Midlands this month... What’s On spoke to Artistic Director Henry Lewis about Mischief’s success and their currently touring show, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery...
It’s 1958 and Minneapolis is abuzz with news that City Bank has been charged with the protection of a priceless diamond. With an escaped convict, his girlfriend and sidekick, a maintenance man and even bank security all eyeing up the gem, what could possibly go wrong?...
Henry Lewis, writer of The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and co-founder of Mischief Theatre, shared a few words about the ‘side-splitting show’.
“We’ve taken inspiration from old Marx Brothers comedy, so in that way it’s that ‘screwball caper’ style of show. It has little references chucked in here and there, but obviously it’s completely original. I suppose it’s a farce at its core, but there’s a lot of physical comedy in there, combined with the verbal one-liners and the like.
“Bank Robbery is very different to our ‘Goes Wrong’ shows because it’s got a narrative to it. There are also a lot of impressive visuals and stunts as the robbery takes place, and there’s a really fun scene involving perspective. I don’t want to give too much away for audiences, but it’s quite film-like in its visuals.”
So why does Henry think the show has played so well with British audiences?
“Crime stories are quite popular, so I think Bank Robbery has fairly universal appeal because it does follow that plot - even if it’s a sillier version, rather than in a thriller style. We’ve tried to make it a very mainstream show, to give it that widespread appeal but with its own very unique style and quirks. It doesn’t require a huge amount of thought to watch - it’s just good fun and a good adventure for any audience to enjoy.”
Bank Robbery has also been a success in its licensed productions abroad, as Henry explains...
“The comedy is very physical, and I think that’s why it translates so well overseas. There have been various productions abroad. One is currently on in Paris, which is obviously quite different, but a lot of the physical side of the comedy is the same. It’s more universal than the verbal comedy, which is more often than not aimed at a particular audience, or makes presumptions about what the audience already knows. I think everyone just gets it and can laugh along.”
As artistic director at Mischief Theatre, Henry faces plenty of challenges, but as far as he’s concerned, the rewards make all the hard work worthwhile.
“I think creating works that are genuinely funny is one of the hardest things to do; it’s tricky, and the shows take an enormous amount of development. It’s my job to ensure that that’s always happening, but also to make certain that we’re always trying something new, coming up with new ideas and collaborating with different people. We have so many shows on at the moment - two shows currently running in the West End and three on tour - and we’re obviously always trying to develop new stuff. There’s such a lot on, so it can be stressful, but the rewards are just amazing. To see different people all over the world laughing at what we produce is incredible. With all the different things going on in our country and the world at the moment, it’s great that people come to our shows, forget their troubles and just sit and laugh. To be able to give people that escape at the theatre is a huge privilege.”
Henry attributes the success of Mischief Theatre to three simple things: faith in their work, a real drive to achieve and the spark between himself and his colleagues.
“We’ve made shows that we believe in, and worked really hard to put them out there. I think because a lot of us trained together at drama school - so we’d already been doing shows together for a long time - we had this shared chemistry that really helped us.”
Mischief Theatre’s ensemble format sees its members collaborating over many years to create a unique body of work.
“I would fully endorse the format we have at Mischief, particularly for youngsters leaving drama school because the industry is so hard to get work in. I would absolutely recommend that people form their own theatre companies with those connections they make along the way, and write, produce, direct and perform their own productions. I think it’s the greatest thing that people can be doing, whether that’s in-between jobs or as more of a full-time life choice, as it has been for us. Ensemble is very important and, I think, much more interesting. It’s given us far greater creative scope - we really have control over what we want to do. It’s such a treat to be able to write and produce your own stuff and see it through to the end. The creative freedom is definitely the most fulfilling aspect. I really can’t recommend it enough.”
And there are more exciting projects to come from Mischief in the near future...
“We’re currently writing for a TV show and a stage project, but I can’t tell you much more than that because it’s still very much a secret. But there will be news of those soon, I’m sure.”
The Comedy About A Bank Robbery shows at The REP, Birmingham from Thursday 23 August until Saturday 8 September
Interview by Lauren Cole