On & Off Broadway

Theater in the West End ‘An Inspector Calls’ / ‘The Comedy About A Bank Robbery’

Review by Elyse Trevers

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Theater can be an escapist experience, or it can hold a mirror on society. In London’s West End, the award-winning revival of ‘An Inspector Calls’ provides valuable lessons for today’s tumultuous world. Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) directed the play in 1992 and has now re-mounted his work at London’s Playhouse Theatre.

The setting, a house set upon stilts, seems too cramped for the prosperous family within, so the audience strains to hear the opening conversations. They are celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft. Mr. Birling, the father, shares his capitalist philosophy with his son Eric and Croft, noting that a man should take care of himself and his family. In other words, it’s each man for himself.

The enigmatic Inspector Goole (Liam Brennan) enters, disturbing the festivities with troubling news: a young woman has taken her own life by ingesting poison. Through his questions, the entire family as well as Croft realizes that they are all connected to the dead girl in some way and have indirectly contributed to her despair and subsequent suicide. While the parents are more concerned about public perception and reputation, the young ones feel responsible and ashamed.

There are some intriguing mysterious aspects to the identity of The Inspector and the veracity of his tale. Daldry employs startling special effects and each night the house is totally destroyed, foreshadowing the impending destruction of World War II.

The classic play expresses playwright J.B. Priestley’s socialist and political principles. It actually premiered in Russia in 1946 and then opened in London a year later. The final didactic lecture by Goole reminds the audience that all people are interconnected. He warns that "If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish," alluding to World War II. Maybe we need to be reminded of that lesson today so we can get along with the rest of the world.

‘The Comedy About A Bank Robbery’

Transitioning from the serious to the lighthearted: The Comedy About The Bank Robbery is a silly, pleasant, farcical comedy written by the same team that created The Play That Goes Wrong (due on Broadway this spring.)

The story, in a nutshell, is about a crook, Mike Ruscitti, who breaks out of a Canadian jail and heads to Minnesota to steal a huge diamond from the bank. He enlists the help of his girlfriend Caprice who is also seeing Sam, a pickpocket. Sam winds up as part of the gang along with Cooper, a well meaning but inept prison guard who helped Ruscitti escape.

Watching the play is like watching a frenetic Marx Brothers and Three Stooges comedy with a bit of Abbot and Costello. There’s clever word play, especially in the character of Cooper, the bumbling police guard who takes everything literally. (He makes “Cooper” the secret password, without telling anyone and then after telling them, wonders why people know it.)

There are visual jokes as well. The FBI agent gets lectured by increasingly high-ranking superiors, characterized by the increasing size of the mustaches they sport. Later when those same ranked officials complain about paperwork, the paper stacks rise from “knee deep” to “up to my chin in paperwork.” There is also a great deal of physicality, from a young man hiding in the room from his lover’s jealous boyfriend to three robbers hanging from a rope over an enormous diamond that they plan to steal.

Why the writers chose Minnesota is unclear except they suggest in the playnotes that everyone in the town is a crook. It also means that American audiences will have no trouble understanding the accents.

The humor is fast and furious, often inane and unrealistic. Two characters mascarade as the pompous Robin Freeboys, Caprice’s father and the bank manager. One of the imposters is black but doesn’t attract anyone’s attention.

It’s a silly diverting evening and probably even funnier if you get a drink from the theater bar beforehand. The cast works hard and everyone laughs. If you want a pleasant evening and don’t want to think too hard, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery might fit the bill. Catch it when you’re in London, but judging by the playwrights’ past successes, it might make the trip to N.Y.