If you imagine a prison, it probably doesn’t strike you as a place teeming with comic potential. Add in the fact that the prison is on fire, and you’re probably visualising a very dark segment on the News at Ten rather than a comedy.
But somehow, Tim Harris manages to turn this rather bleak scenario into a very funny 60-minute show in A Most Pressing Issue, playing this week at Studio at New Wimbledon Theatre.
At the centre of this caper is Penton (Harris), the prison’s arrogant and sleazy warden who is desperately on the pull, and his nice-but-dim assistant Orly (Matt Williams, who also collaborated on the script).
As the pair plan out how they can woo women — while also dealing with the minor inconvenience of the prison somehow catching fire — the two actors show off their brilliant comedic skills with faultless timing and charming physicality. Harris and Williams possess the kind of charisma and chemistry on stage that puts you immediately at ease as you watch their back-and-forth, generating well-earned fits of laughter from the audience.
Where the slapstick momentum slightly stumbles, however, is when we’re introduced to two more characters: Celeste from HR (Natasha Mula) and the Sergeant (James De Burca). Even with an often scene-stealing performance from De Burca, neither of these characters add much to the story that couldn’t have been achieved by focusing solely on Penton and Orly.
In a tight 60-minute runtime, adding in more characters without giving them enough scenes to develop made me long to watch a full show about Penton and Orly’s unconventional — and utterly hilarious — friendship.
The humour in A Most Pressing Issue hits the hardest when these two compelling characters are saying and doing completely absurd things, while somehow also showing their individual vulnerabilities. It’s clear that Tim Harris is a gifted voice whose writing emulates the very best in British comedy — this play just needed to hone in on its best assets.
Playing until 16th March, https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/a-most-pressing-issue/studio-at-new-wimbledon-theatre/
Reviewer: Olivia Cox
Reviewed: 13th March 2024
North West End UK Rating: