Artwork for Inside No.9
★★★★★
This autumn see’s the comedic duo, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, touring up and down the country for the stage version of their hit TV series, Inside No.9. The tour comes due to popular demand following the success of its West End run earlier this year.
The TV series, which followed an anthology format that combined dark comedy with tales of horror and suspense, had finally wrapped up last year, with a finale that reflected on where the duo might go next. The series ended—appropriately enough—on its ninth season, with it being made clear that would be the end for it on television. It was announced shortly after however that the duo would nevertheless be returning for a stage version that would serve as a final victory lap and a farewell to the series for fans.
As with various episodes of the television series, the play experiments with the format in question, providing audiences with an entirely unique experience. The production is comprised of two halves, each of which tell largely separate stories.
The first half is based on a previous episode from the series—Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room. Focusing on two former entertainers who are back performing their old routines for one last performance, this is perhaps the obvious choice for an episode of theirs to take to the stage, though the duo also throw in extra Easter eggs referencing other episodes, as well as several entirely new comic routines featuring special guest stars that pays homage to the kinds of comedy that these two entertainers had previously made their careers out of.
The play’s second half tells a new story that is wholly original to the stage production. Much like their “live” episode Dead Line, it’s one that uses the medium as part of the narrative’s twists; starting out with what appears to be a wildly over-the-top pastiche of old gothic horrors, before revealing this to itself be a rehearsal for a play.
The production uses this gimmick to satirise the industry whilst also setting up its central storyline of the theatre itself being haunted. As with Dead Line, the production brilliantly blurs the line on what is real and isn’t, making use of go-pros and previously filmed footage in taking the audience behind the stage, as they then see things the cast themselves cannot.
The result is one that is in equal turns hilarious and chilling, hitting on all the best hallmarks of the series itself. Pemberton and Shearsmith themselves are as brilliant as ever in playing up to the audience, whilst the rest of the cast also impress in balancing the comic timings, knowing dialogue, and moments of tension that they are given throughout. The play hits just the right balance in involving the audience themselves in landing particular comic beats and selling the more horrific moments as feeling plausibly real.
The experience is exactly the kind that fans of the series will come to expect from the duo and acts as the perfect final flourish ten years on since the show first aired. The way in which it blurs the narrative makes it a must-see on the stage for long-time fans and ensures an entertaining time for all involved.
Inside No.9 will continue to tour throughout the country up into December, with final performances running from 2-6 December at The Alexandra in Birmingham.
Words by Daniel Goldstraw
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