Beth Doherty
You wouldn’t be wrong for thinking that ‘Good Luck, Studio’ is actually a children’s production right up until Wibble the Dragon pronounces his vowels in ‘conundrum’ slightly wrong…
This new dark comedy, co-produced by Wiltshire Creative, Mercury Colchester and Mischief Theatre, is fearless, twisted and very funny.
Mischief is the award-winning theatre company behind the global sensation ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and the BBC comedy series ‘The Goes Wrong Show’.
In this production, Mischief’s Henry Shields and Henry Lewis make their debut as solo writers and directors.
Speaking about this new offering from Mischief, Henry Shields said, “We love pushing ourselves into the unknown and trying new things.
“While Good Luck, Studio is darker in tone than our previous work it still has all the fun and silliness we’re known for, so what I hope we’re doing is reaching out to a new audience who might be less keen on our more family-friendly work, whilst still providing plenty for our existing fans to enjoy.”
The premise of this production lends itself to dark and contemptuous comedy – the set is a Children’s TV show with the audience playing the excited toddlers.
The first scenes introduce Toby as the line-fluffing Wibble the Dragon (Chris Leask), the fame-obsessed Elizabeth who plays Princess Pineapple (Jemma Geanaus), theatre old timer Anthony who plays King Lemonhead (Adam Byron), Pam the puppeteer (Eboni Dixon) and the socially awkward scriptwriter Sean (Harry Kershaw).
The magical world of children’s TV is then juxtaposed with the cynical and jaded lives of the adult actors.
While the first scenes are a bit slow, the script is clever and the rotating set design is impressive.
The first scene in the studio is followed by a replay from the perspective of the gallery. The rest of the production follows a similar structure, exploring three perspectives of the studio, gallery and medical room.
Here, Tom Walker plays Andy, a dry, sarcastic and jaded director and Bryony Corrigan takes on Saoirse, his compliance-obsessed assistant. Greg Tannahill plays Kevin, an Airfix fanatic who gets himself in a rather hilarious sticky situation.
Suddenly, there’s a failed actor with a vendetta and a gun (Gareth Tempest) – this is when chaos ensues.
It’s silly without being trivial, it’s ridiculous without being an eye-roll, it’s broken bones, superglued trousers, explosions and a Freudian slip of the line “ducks off sick”.
This adult take on kids’ TV is a feel-good production which is a welcome distraction which will have you rolling in the aisles.
‘Good Luck, Studio’ is on at Salisbury Playhouse from 18th October – 5th November 2022.
The show is suitable for ages 14+ and contains strong language, emotive themes of an adult nature, a bomb threat, a hostage situation, loud bangs and gunshots.
Tickets start from £17, book yours here.
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Andy Munns
