Espionage! is a period comedy stage play set in London and Porthmadog in 1938.
A committee of military personnel with chequered histories has been mysteriously assembled by the British Secret Intelligence Service, ostensibly to flush out a mole suspected of sharing secrets with the Nazis. The action switches between this intriguing plot and the real life story of the playwright who is writing this stage play, detailing his battles with the show’s producer and investor as they race to meet a deadline for rehearsals and opening night. The characters in the play-within-a-play portray aspects of the characters in the over-arcing storyline relating to the playwright and his employers, and are also used to verbalise the thoughts of the writer. This is a truly unique construct, making this a quite remarkable play. Think One Man Two Guv’nors meets the West End comedy production of The Thirty-Nine Steps with a nod to the musical City of Angels, without the music but with non-stop jokes.
A committee of military personnel with chequered histories has been mysteriously assembled by the British Secret Intelligence Service, ostensibly to flush out a mole suspected of sharing secrets with the Nazis. The action switches between this intriguing plot and the real life story of the playwright who is writing this stage play, detailing his battles with the show’s producer and investor as they race to meet a deadline for rehearsals and opening night. The characters in the play-within-a-play portray aspects of the characters in the over-arcing storyline relating to the playwright and his employers, and are also used to verbalise the thoughts of the writer. This is a truly unique construct, making this a quite remarkable play. Think One Man Two Guv’nors meets the West End comedy production of The Thirty-Nine Steps with a nod to the musical City of Angels, without the music but with non-stop jokes.
