IN ITS MAJESTY (Crew of Patches)****

By Jack

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wc-yrjA43Y 

Available until: Unknown

After their brilliant Zoom play about the Mechanicals in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom is seriously the best character in Shakespeare, I haven’t seen all the plays but I know people who have and they’re not arguing) Crew of Patches are back with another hilarious comedy about robbers.

One, Two, Three and Four want to break into an art gallery and steal a painting. I’d like to do that. Not the actual stealing part but I wouldn’t mind getting the better of the security guards and the cameras. If anyone wants to pay me to break into their establishment just to see if it’s possible maybe we could work out a deal.

Breaking into an art gallery should be quite simple. In and out as quick as possible. No fuss. No stopping to have a chat or a snack. Except that’s exactly what these thieves do. Richard Ahsam is the writer and he’s chosen a great situation and created four really good characters. They’re all different and the script is really sharp. It’s not intellectual humour which you need a degree to understand, it’s real proper humour about human beings. The script is fun and unpredictable. It’s fair to say things don’t go as anyone expects but if you want to know more about that you’re going to have to watch it, that’s all I’m giving you.

James Lawton is the director and even though all the actors are sitting in front of their screens, the characters are obviously all different. The lighting is all really well set up so they’re in darkness but visible and James has taken advantage of the actors’ brilliance at facial expressions by letting them take the time to react. The way these actors look at something and react to it really ramps up the tension.

Charlotte E Tayler is hilarious as One, aggressive one minute and smiling the next with some great lines. Eleanor Wilkinson plays Two and has brilliant comic timing, every line is perfect and she adds so much visual and vocal humour. India de Bono’s Three is amusingly focused on their own priorities and Sarah Pearcey is very focused on the job in hand as Four. Yes ok they’re breaking into an art gallery but you can’t help liking them, you’re not exactly sitting there hoping they all get caught.

Great script, great actors and great idea.