I saw The Comedy About Spies for a second time on 15 September! It's still such a fun show, a great blend of 'incredibly ambitious' and 'absolutely stupid'. I picked up on a lot of little details and jokes I missed the first time around.
I was in the stalls this time, closer to the stage, so I was able to appreciate the actors' expressions more! It added a lot to moments like Woodbead repeatedly being jumpscared by Tipton, which was maybe my favourite running joke. This is the second time this year I've seen a play from far away the first time and then seen it closer up (the first was Death Note: The Musical, which I've written about on my Death Note website), and there's something very surreal about going from looking down upon a distant performance to 'oh, holy shit, those are full-sized, living human beings really performing this story right now, for me, here.'
Henry Shields was off, so Matt Cavendish played Bernard. While I did miss Shields, I thought Cavendish had the right energy for the role; Bernard needs to feel desperate and pathetic, but in an endearing way, which I suspect is a tricky line to walk. I did not tell Cavendish 'you were really good at being pathetic' at the stage door; I felt it would be hard to make that sound like a compliment!
The most disconcerting thing about seeing Shields Bernard followed by Cavendish Bernard is the height difference; Shields must be at least half a foot taller than Cavendish. It was an interesting experience to go from 'gangly hapless Bernard' to 'tiny hapless Bernard, the same height as Rosemary'. The way characters like Lance and Woodbead towered over Cavendish's Bernard felt very fitting!
Dave Hearn was off the last time I saw the show, so this was my first opportunity to see him as Lance, and I loved him in the role! This was a pleasant surprise for me. Max is towards the bottom of my personal Cornley character ranking; there's nothing wrong with him (and in fact I think he plays an important role as the guy who's just having fun and not taking things too seriously), but I just happen to love most of the others a little more. I was surprised and delighted by how fond I became of Hearn's Lance; the way he plays the role is so perfectly sharp-edged and straight-faced while everything falls apart around him.
Lance is almost the opposite of Max, come to think of it: Max plays into the disaster and comedy while surrounded by characters who are taking everything seriously, whereas Lance, thinking he's in an absolutely serious story, refuses to acknowledge the absurdity of his situation. It can be hard to make the straight man stand out in a comedy, but I think Hearn did a great job.
I noticed this time around that, when Woodbead suggests that Lance and Janet might want to tape his audition (and Lance and Janet think he's talking about taping their threesome), Janet nods thoughtfully. I love her.
I'm very touched by Woodbead getting a genuine compliment on his acting at the end! I wonder if Robert Grove ever gets to experience the same thing. I really like the dynamic between Woodbead and Rosemary in general, although they only have a couple of scenes together. He's so outraged that she thinks he's rude! And then he makes a genuine effort to make up for it, in his awkward, socially incompetent way.
(This particularly pleases me because I've thought for a while that Robert would be horrified if anyone called him rude. I'm taking Woodbead's reaction as confirmation that I'm right, given the similarities between the characters!)
I was hesitant about going to the stage door, after being slightly overenthusiastic in front of Henry Lewis last time! But I wanted Dave Hearn and Matt Cavendish's signatures, so I decided I was going to be brave. I was going to go to that stage door, and I was going to be so calm and normal that Henry Lewis would think, Well, this can't possibly be the person I met two weeks ago; she must have an embarrassing twin.
(The note I wrote to myself before the show: Be calm, be normal. Try to seem like you appreciate their work but own relatively few websites on which you ramble breathlessly about how compelling Robert Grove is. You can do this.)
At the last Comedy About Spies show I went to, a matinée, the stage door was a long, orderly queue, so each actor moved down the queue and spoke to every person. At this show, it was more of a cluster around the stage door, and at first I was a little nervous and hesitant about approaching, so unfortunately I missed speaking to Greg Tannahill and Macadie Amoroso.
A girl at the stage door saw my Death Note: The Musical tote bag and told me she'd seen the show, and we got chatting about Death Note and Mischief. It was really nice, and it also made me feel less alone at the stage door, which helped me to approach the cast members with more confidence! She asked if I had any social media, and I told her about my Goes Wrong website ("Why do you have a website?" she asked, reasonably), so I suppose there's a chance she'll see this. It was lovely to meet you!
As I'd already met most of the cast, I was worried I'd end up awkwardly standing around with nothing new to say, so I decided I was going to ask each of them for their favourite Comedy About Spies character. The exception was Dave Hearn, as I hadn't met him before and knew I wanted to talk about his depiction of Lance.
The cast members I met at the stage door:
Bryony Corrigan
Me: The person behind me gasped so loudly when you were shot.
Corrigan: Good!
Me: As she should; it's an impactful moment! Do you have a favourite character in the play?
Corrigan: Ooh, I think Janet.
Me: Janet's great!
Corrigan: Who's your favourite?
Me: I think it's between Douglas and Janet.
Corrigan: (nods sagely)
Me: Although Elena is also great, of course.
Corrigan: Of course!
Dave Hearn
I told Hearn he was fantastic in the role of Lance, and that it seemed like it must be a challenge to play the character who thinks he's in a serious spy film. "You weren't on when I last saw this," I said, "and it was really interesting to see a different take on the character."
"Thank you; that means a lot," he said.
Nancy Zamit
Me: Do you have a favourite character?
Zamit: Of everything? Or...?
Me: In this play. Do you have a favourite character of everything, though?
Zamit: Well, in this play, I think it's Douglas Woodbead. He's just a ridiculous man. Wait, actually there was one show in which Allie Dart - she's my understudy, she's incredible - had to go on as Sergei, because everything fell apart.
Me: Oh, I'd love to see a female Sergei, actually!
Zamit: She had to learn the part in two hours, and she was perfect, all the lines, all the choreography, everything. That's my answer. Sergei as played by Allie.
Matt Cavendish
I'd previously seen Cavendish as Max in Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to have him sign my Christmas Carol script!
Me: Do you have a favourite character?
Cavendish: To play? Or just a favourite character?
Me: Just a favourite character. Although, wait, that's an interesting point; I suppose playing different characters gives you a unique experience of them. Do you have a favourite character to play?
Cavendish: Well, I think Bernard, as he's the one I go on as most often.
Me: So who's your favourite character?
Cavendish: I think you've got to love Sergei.
Chris Leask
Me: Fantastic show! Thank you; I had a great time.
Leask: Thanks! You came to see it before, didn't you?
Me: I'm impressed that you remember me! I'm actually slightly concerned that you remember me, because I embarrassed myself in front of Henry Lewis, and I was counting on him having forgotten.
Leask: How did you embarrass yourself?
Me: I think I just babbled about how much I loved Robert.
Leask: Oh, you should hear Henry. He babbles all the time.
It was very kind of Leask to try to make me feel better about my stage door embarrassment! I really appreciated it.
Me: Do you have a favourite character in the play?
Leask: I think it's got to be Sergei. I know I play him, but...
Me: (laughs) Well, of course, but do you have a favourite character you don't play?
Leask: Maybe Tipton? Sergei and Tipton never really talk, but I got to see Greg playing him when I saw the play from the audience recently, and he's so funny.
Me: He is! He's such a great comic actor.
Leask: Thank you for coming again!
Adele James
Me: It's a great play; thank you! Do you have a favourite character?
James: I think Douglas. He's just having such a bad day. The worst day of anyone there. Well, I suppose there's Bernard.
Me: At least Bernard doesn't get blown up at the end.
James: True! I think Douglas wins on the 'bad day' front. Did you want me to sign anything?
Me: I actually already have your signature from a couple of weeks ago!
James: Oh, yes, you came to see this before, didn't you? Lovely to see you again.
Henry Lewis
Me: It's a fantastic play; thank you! I had a great time. Do you have a favourite character?
Lewis: A favourite character? Oh, I don't know. They all have their good points.
Me: I suppose it's hard to pick a favourite if you created them.
Lewis: Mm.
Me: But who's your favourite, though?
Lewis: (without hesitation) Sergei.
I don't know whether Henry Lewis recognised me from last time. I was very nervous every time he met my eyes; I somehow hadn't fully processed that talking to him meant, you know, he would look at me, creating a risk that he might notice I looked familiar. But he didn't say anything about it, and I think I managed a reasonably normal interaction this time, so I'm counting it as a win.
Plus I had a great evening, and that's definitely a win!
