Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Bryony Corrigan, Dave Hearn, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit.
The art of farce and slapstick is form that only comes alive when the whole production is behind it, it cannot be achieved in half measures, it requires all the cast to be on their absolute game; a situation where the magic of the farce is brutally exploited to make the belief of ineptness become just as much as part of the act as the mockery and cynicism to which the situation calls for.
There are many great physical theatre companies to whom comedy is rooted in the beauty of the absurd, and for Mischief Theatre, they have taken this particular attribute to even grander heights, to places only the true greats of the situation could have arguably imagined taking an audience.
Very few groups would attempt to fit an entire court scene into a perfect replica, but in a scale to which it would feel snug in a doll’s house. This sublime representation is one of countless precious moments that make The Goes Wrong Show: A Trial To Watch one of the finest examples of farce to made it to television in years; a complete dynamo of pressure, timing and wonderful puns bringing the script to life.
The third in the series for the team, A Trial To Watch captures the courtroom drama at its most ludicrous, it brings nonsense, not to its own production, but to others who see their territory in the circus of gowns, wigs and pompous ceremony being sent up, lampooned with efficiency and caricatured with brutal eyes raised and brief, insightful remarks. It is one that it is impossible not to enjoy and it is a bar raised for others to emulate.
With tremendous performances by Dave Hearn and Henry Shields as the two waring brothers at the centre of the case, and Bryony Corrigan as the lawyer Becky Sandhurst, A Trial To Watch is an overwhelming example of what can be achieved on television in the name of comedy; not cruel, never unpleasant, just perfectly timed clowning and belief; completely exquisite!
Ian D. Hall