James Graham’s hit play Quiz takes us back 22 years (was it really that long ago?) to the “coughing scandal” of Major Charles Ingram on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Danielle Henry, Rory Bremner and Leo Wringer in Quiz | Photo © Johan Persson
Ingram, his wife Diana and contact Tecwen Whittock were found guilty of fraud when the jury decided the contestant won his million thanks to help from strategic coughs from the other two in the audience.
Would this event still be of interest after all these years?
Thankfully, in this production at Bath Theatre Royal, it’s a resounding yes – no need to phone a friend on that.
The play is a mix of domestic drama, legal deliberations and broad comedy, interspersed with the iconic quiz show scenes, flitting seamlessly back and forth in time, resulting in a thought-provoking crowd-pleaser.
Directors Daniel Evans and Sean Linnen make this highly immersive from the start, as each audience member is handed an electronic voting system to use during the show.
We feel like very involved observers, either as quiz show audience or jury members, an effect heightened by various characters addressing us directly, Robert Jones’ semi-circular set design (making us feel we are within the other half), and Ryan Day’s inclusive lighting creations.
The cast play a myriad of characters and the multi-roling works a treat; Mark Benton is clearly having a ball as, amongst others, the endlessly-jogging ITV programmes director David Liddiment, the trial judge and a ditsy female reporter.
As the Ingrams, Lewis Reeves and Charley Webb cleverly tread the fine line between nice cosy middle-class couple and potentially duplicitous schemers, highlighting why they still hold public interest today.
But the clear draw here is Rory Bremner as Chris Tarrant, and the performance is utterly uncanny, from the walk, the postures, the voice, the face-drop and, yes, the giggle.
Thankfully we often get to see the likeness up close thanks to large projections of the quiz show scenes, and it doesn’t waver once.
He also has an uproarious cameo in act two as an iconic soap character – no spoilers!
Quiz is a highly entertaining, suspenseful night out, and amidst the laughs, there are points to ponder on the efficacy of a legal system when we, the audience jurors, vote twice on the Ingrams’ guilt, with surprising results.
As Danielle Henry, as the stoical defence attorney asks, who really knows for sure what is true and what is false? We might need to phone a friend on that.
Quiz is showing at Bath Theatre Royal until 25th November. Box office: 01225 448844.
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
