Like the ‘new’ serve yourself checkouts – here is ace interactive theatre!

Lamplighters by Rogue Productions (www.roguecreates.com) currently featuring at The Old Red Lion theatre, Angel, London, running ‘til and including August 18, stars a feisty MC hailing from Ireland, Neill Connolly who worked with his business partner Dean Rodgers, to create a skit based on the novels of John Le Carre and their improvised spy name George Sneezy (originally George Smiley in the novels). Neill tells us that Le Carre’s spies are “more subtle” than other spies who may come to mind.

Le Carre who is a favourite writer of the two thespians producing Lamplighters, changed his name from David Cornwell – and was a former British Intelligence Officer.   The spy skit is essentially a one man band with a big difference …the audience have to partake in the production to execute an evening of totally interactive engagement which results in laughter and big fun. Connolly introduces himself as a Le Carre fan and hints at games like Doctors and Nurses and Cowboys and Indians which many of us played during our formative years. Neill is not actually a lightweight. He has worked with interactive theatre at The National Theatre London with teenagers to build confidence and self esteem amongst people at vital stages in their development. He gets people interacting by originally asking what books or novels they have been reading (Skin in the Game, and 50 Years of Hurt came up) and swiftly moves on to commandeering people in the audience to play characters and choose an “operation name” for a spy mission which on Saturday 4 August was operation E Blackbird.

Described as “part game, part theatre, part improv comedy”   members of the audience are asked to become involved in finding an agent lost in the field, espionage, trickery, prison escapes and more. Clever use of lighting and secret messages continue the interactive theme throughout to the jubilance of all. The theatre is intimate – it seats sixty at maximum so if you go along, expect to join in with very little effort to get on the ‘stage’ at all.

Penny Nair Price