Theatre Reviews: Inside No. 9 STAGE/FRIGHT; Rhinoceros
Two sinister farces, absurd and terrifying
After a brief hiatus thanks to a Scottish holiday, a very English cold, and some dense work weeks, I returned to poke around the London theatre scene. This week’s pair offer show how being funny allows you to get really sinister.
Inside No. 9 STAGE/FRIGHT - Wyndham’s Theatre
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith
Directed by Simon Evans
2 hours 20 minutes
Inside No. 9 ran on BBC Two from 2014 to 2024 - spanning 55 episodes across 9 seasons. Each episode was its own self-contain story; always offering Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith fresh characters to play with, and often blending comedy with the macabre and/or heartfelt. This stage show exists as a final cherry on the cake. For the casual theatre goer it will be a strange beast but for die-hard fans this will be everything.
The show opens with an extended sketch about theatre etiquette which includes a man being poisoned for daring to eat an Itsu during a production of Hamlet. This opener serves to not only bring the theatre-crowd onside but sets the tone for the evening ahead as the show deftly moves between scenes from the series, new content, and knowing winks at the state of modern theatre.
As a fan of the show I delighted at revisiting a classic episode or two and seeing new characters meet appropriately sticky ends. As a frequent theatregoer I giggled at barbs thrown at the trend for camerawork onstage or casting driven more by Instagram followers than talent. Throw in one sketch centered around a accidentally kidnapped celebrity guest star and Inside No. 9 has fully evolved into a variety show. Props to a very game Meera Syal who emerged from under the pillow case the night I was there.
As theatre in the traditional sense the show makes little to no sense. It could not work with any other actors in the lead roles, and is best appreciated after watching 28 hours of content on iPlayer first. I fear for anyone who goes in blind. But as a victory lap for a modern BBC classic, I couldn’t have asked for anything more; I laughed, I jumped, and I bought the souvenir programme.
Seat: Grand Circle, E26 - £27.75
Whenever I am flying solo at Wyndham’s I sit in one of two strange little nest seats up in the Grand Circle. You get an L-shaped plank to sit on and can either sit facing forwards or sideways. There is nobody sitting next to you in any direction and the view is clear. You’ll shuffle occasionally to get comfortable but it’s worth it.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★☆
Inside No. 9 STAGE/FRIGHT runs until 5th April 2025.
Rhinoceros - Almeida Theatre
By Eugène Ionesco, Translated and Directed by Omar Elerian
2 hours 40 minutes
I try to see everything at the Almedia Theatre and sometimes that means getting completely out of my depth. I have to confess that I am not well versed in Eugène Ionesco or the Theatre of the Absurd. Rhinoceros just so happens to be an adaptation of a classic Ionesco play and firmly in the canon of the Theatre of the Absurb.
Luckily the cast at the Almeida draw you into the curious rhythms of Rhinoceros, laying out the set, introducing characters, and employing a blend of mime and pantomime to make sure that nobody is taking anything too seriously. The world onstage is surreal and filled with larger than life characters. The only relatable figure is the scruffy everyman Berenger (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) who joins the audience in its bafflement.
Berenger’s peaceful drink with a friend is interrupted by a rampaging rhinoceros, or two, and before the show is over the small town is horn-deep in an epidemic of rhino transformations. These beasts are conjured on stage with little more than a grey leotard, a kazoo, and some elastic body and facial contortions.
The first act of the play lures the audience in and presents the absurd with a sense of fun. One woman was in hysterical giggles from the start right through to the interval. The atmosphere was heightened and we were all giddy with the silliness of it all. The second act was jarring as a result. Suddenly the rhino epidemic was no longer silly fun, but a wave of conformity symbolising something altogether more sinister. The giggles still came but they were few and far between.
As someone who didn’t know what they were getting into, I enjoyed a hilarious and sinister night at the theatre. I’ll admit to enjoying the first half more but the message contained in the second came across loud and clear.
Currently sold out, you’ll have to pray for returns to see this farce about fascism.
Seat: Circle, D18 - £40
Sat safely in the circle away from threats of audience participation we had a good view of almost everything. Some on-stage foley was obscured but if anything that enhanced the effect.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★☆
Rhinoceros runs until 26th April 2025.