A scathing critique of the Met police transfers to West End for a limited run and it’s really loud and absurd and shouty and explicit like this.
After a sellout season at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, madcap farce Accidental Death of an Anarchist has earned a residency at the historic Theatre Royal Haymarket, but it doesn’t really suit the décor.
Why bother with a proscenium arch when you’ve obliterated the fourth wall with a sledgehammer?
Not immune to a bit of farce and clever wordplay, I draw the line at nearly two hours of non-stop shouty shouty bang bang.
Loud noises aside, Tom Basden’s adaptation of the original Italian play (Dario Fo and Franca Rame) is uncompromising and utterly savage in its criticism of the modern Metropolitan Police.
Over 50 years on from the original, the cultural references have been brought up to date, but the plot remains largely untouched.
Having infiltrated the Met’s inner sanctum, The Madman – our indefatigable lead – convinces the police he is in fact an investigating judge.
Absurd shenanigans ensue as the police are convinced by the fraudster into reenacting the interrogation of an innocent prisoner who ended up out the window.
In laying bare the institutional incompetencies and moral transgressions of the institution The Madmen is relentless.
Unfortunately, so is the tomfoolery, the costume changes, and so are the punchlines.
The horseplay is so very male, so typical of a public-school adolescent studying politics that it quickly becomes tiresome.
The Maniac himself, played by Daniel Rigby, represents an incredible feat of performance – a marathon in both speech and action and one that Rigby carries off with ease and aplomb. He barely pauses for breath, but then neither does the verbal polemic.
It was like listening to an endless stream of consciousness from a disgruntled talk radio presenter.
Though laudable in its fearless criticism of the authorities – and the larger complaining populace – Accidental Death of an Anarchist is utterly exhausting and fulfills the assessment of its own Madman: it amounts to a very dramatic, very moany rant.
Further, please can we postpone the audience interaction until Pantomime season.
Tickets for Accidental Death of an Anarchist can be purchased via the Theatre Royal Haymarket website.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist plays at Theatre Royal Haymarket from June 12 to September 9 2023.
Writers: Dario Fo and Franca Rame
Adaptation: Tom Basden
Director: Daniel Raggett
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