In a cost-of-living crisis a comedy about a bank robbery is always going to go down well…

For clarity’s sake, we should point out that this show is not The Comedy About A Bank Robbery (Mischief Theatre’s inspired farce about… well, you can guess), but it is a comedy about a bank robbery. And a very good one!

Holland, a poorly treated clerk of a London bank, finds himself presented with a rare opportunity each day which many of us might well dream of. In charge of the bank’s deliveries of gold bullion he slowly begins to concoct a plan to steal enough to make his fortune. The problem? Shifting the loot in England is too traceable and therefore too risky. Whilst pondering on how to smuggle the gold abroad, his building gains a new lodger. A man who just so happens to have the connections and the means to make Holland’s dream a reality…

Based on the 1951 Ealing Studios film, starring Alec Guinness and Sid James, The Lavender Hill Mob precedes most vehicles we think of when hearing the words “heist movie” and its inspiration can be traced in much of what keeps the genre popular to this day. The basic premise of this production follows a play-within-a-play format or, to perhaps better describe it, a would-be film within a play (it’s less confusing than it sounds!) The play’s characters themselves, drunk on wine and victory, multi-role further characters in order to depict the chaotic and comic events that have lead up to a lavish New Year’s Eve party in Rio de Janeiro. Hats are donned, accents juggled and makeshift props are discovered and discarded in velocitous succession as the action spills through meta-level upon meta-level with the drama of the present corrupting depictions of the past to often hilarious effect.

This production revels in an inventiveness sadly all too lacking in many touring shows of this size and it is a breath of fresh air to see such diligence and creativity poured into a project. Jeremy Sams’ direction lifts Phil Porter’s imaginative adaptation. Characters are well defined (even if only fleetingly inhabited) and a malleable set is used to great effect to represent a myriad of locations (from the docks of Dover to the Eiffel Tower) and to build spellbinding physical sequences (from car chases to customs queues). With a smattering of stage magic sprinkled throughout and a quickfire succession of one-liners and gags – a French seagull is a particular highlight – the show is a real homage to the comedy heists of old as well as its own source material.

And given the material, lead actor Miles Jupp has some very large shoes to fill. He is more than capable, however, as a charismatic and charming Holland. Justin Edwards completes the show’s central partnership as souvenir vendor Pendlebury and together the pair fire off one another with formidable energy. But it is Victoria Blunt as Audrey and Tessa Churchard as Lady Agnes that provide the show’s most substantial laughs as they seamlessly surf characters, locations and scenery as the ‘dastardly’ crooks that make up the big-hearted but sometimes dim-witted mob.

This production stays faithful to its original incarnation whilst managing to breathe new life into the old classic, reviving a quintessential caper that has you rooting for the ‘baddies’. Modern audiences will be quicker to celebrate any misfortune dealt upon banks and bankers than when the film first came out in and this iteration readily sticks two fingers up to purveyors of the “trickle down”. Though frivolous in its ambition and foolhardy in its message, the show still throws up those big “what if?” questions. “What if we dared? What if we did? And what if we got away with it?” And it does so with plenty of laughs along the way. In these times, that could be said to be worth its weight in gold.

Theatre Royal Brighton, Monday 21st November 2022
For tickets and further information click here
Photos by Hugo Glendinning