So: H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. Had I read it? Had I seen it? Of course I had heard of it, everybody’s heard of it! A quick read was quite entertaining, with a certain style, though not quite as expected. How would this be realised on stage? Difficult, I though – surely extremely challenging with the necessity of clever mime work in the hands of skilled actors alongside ingenious illusory effects.

This production of Laura Ilinca’s The Invisible Men bore little resemblance to the original, apart from the names and location of H.G. Wells’ novel. Instead, it offered a conglomeration of all the spy/thriller conventions and cliches from that genre rolled into an entertaining romp, quite suitable for an evening of theatre. In the wrong hands it could have gone so horribly wrong! Here I felt the audience were in safe hands of a team knowing exactly what it was doing.

An excellent, realistic set met the eye – a beautifully-made bar with bar stools, an armchair and sofa in the foreground, plenty of exits and entrances through curtains and doors, and a wonderful further acting area created behind the bar’s counter, used in a number of different ways throughout the production. Attention to detail visually, together with the narrator’s description, helped to ground the piece in its location, the Cock and Bull pub in the quiet English countryside. My husband remarked that there weren’t enough glasses, but then there weren’t many customers!

What was good about this production was that details were so often understated, like the lovely pub sign on the wall stage left – we knew where we were. Helping all this and so important to the subsequent plot was some excellent lighting, identifying the different parts of the story and changes of location, highlighting the narrator who could move about within the set or through
the audience or observing from behind the bar, almost as if on screen. Very nicely done for an audience who could have been baffled by the story that unfolded.

Now the actors. A well-directed group of very competent actors; the play was well cast and believable… well, almost! I thought that the depressed central character, Jack Griffin, grieving for his divorced ex-wife after fifteen years of marriage, seemed a bit young and probably far too fit, but his engaging personality and good looks held the audience and portrayed his role.

Maybe I should mention costume here, as it seems relevant. As with the set, attention to detail made its point: boxer shorts and t-shirts printed with appropriate words and symbols was a great idea here; lovely visual jokes along the way. I liked the bear in particular! The kimono did need some form of fastening as it constantly distracted the actor and the audience at times, but Laurence Lowe was natural and communicated well. He moved about the stage with ease.

The innkeeper Nat Hall, played by Paul Russell, and his wife Mrs Hall, played by Crystal Martin, made a believable pairing, enjoying each other as they played out Jack’s fantasy games that he intends to play on his ex-wife. They become involved in plots and intrigue with Vladimir Ivanovich Rubliov, humorously and stereotypically played by Patrick Sunners, complete with Russian accent and looking absolutely right as he entered the pub looking for refuge.

Humour was gentle and a variety of clever moments created either from the dialogue or from facial expressions and body language led to a number of chuckles, properly amusing. The narrator, beautifully played by Jessica Wall, helped to explain where we were in the various situations, explaining the action as the commentator and sometimes as part of the agency with whom she was working.

Local and topical references were appreciated and kept the piece light and fun. Then Millie Holland, played by Meggie Lonngren, arrives at the pub attempting to re-activate former agent Nat Hall and claiming to be a scientist herself. Invisibility is what they all seek.

The white van was a great gag, though more difficult to place for action. It was first introduced by the Halls miming opening the window to see, which maybe didn’t suit the style of the rest of the play but was performed well. Later scenes in the van didn’t work so well, though the bomb idea and the countdown was funny and thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.

Sound effects were extremely good and totally appropriate, on cue and at the right level, unobtrusive but they nicely punctuated the piece when necessary. There’s nothing better than some yelps, thuds, and bangs behind a closed door to stimulate the imagination! Other effects such as the gas worked well.

“Bonkers!” I heard someone say at the end – and it was wonderfully bonkers! Not quite the fast-paced comedy though; cue bite could have been quicker, as could some of the many entrances. There were so many episodes and being narrated also made it difficult for performers to come in fast enough. It just needed tightening up to achieve maximum effect.

To conclude, the actual encounter with the invisible men was great fun, particularly the tussle with the cloak behind the sofa – wonderful! Yes, it was a very enjoyable evening and a nicely crafted piece of work. Lovely to see experimentation successfully created on stage.

A polished and secure production all round and congratulations to Laura Ilinca for her weird and wonderful adaptation and imaginative direction. Well done CoPs.