Whether or not you’re familiar with H.G. Wells classic story is largely immaterial when it comes to Original Theatre’s production of The Time Machine A Comedy. Having already toured and now playing a season at London’s Park Theatre, Steven Canny and John Nicholson’s script gleefully takes inspiration from the source material while offering us something new.
It’s presented as a play within a play, the idea being that a three person theatre company have abandoned their production of The Importance of Being Earnest in favour of a reworked version The Time Machine. The reason being one of the company is the great great grandson of Wells and he’s just discovered the story wasn’t fiction after all.
The first act is this new play but in a ‘goes wrong’ style; fluffed lines, missed cues and technical faults etc. It’s a walk in the park for Mischief’s Dave Hearn in the role of Dave Wells and it’s amusing enough, but not quite as funny as it could be. The interval arrives at a bit of a flat point and you might wonder if it’s worth returning.
It is. The second act delivers consistent surprises and is far more entertaining. Without ruining anything, the trio find themselves in a bit of bother, Dave’s time travelling hasn’t helped, and now they need to overcome the time travel paradoxes in order to get everything back on track.
Directed by Orla O’Loughlin, The Time Machine A Comedy gives us The Muppets, Hamlet, Cher and even B*Witched! It’s wacky and more than a little preposterous but that all seems to add to its charm. But even in the more engaging second half, it still has lulls and the uneven pacing feels time is moving more slowly than it actually is.
There’s also quite a bit of audience interaction and actually some of the funniest moments come from the audience themselves rather than the script. Dave Hearn is a natural with the audience and makes these interactive sections feel fun and, importantly, consensual. Joining Hearn is Michael Dylan and Amy Revelle both of whom deliver spot on performances.
There are genuine laugh out loud moments in The Time Machine A Comedy, and even some moments of awe, such as Dylan’s soliloquy or Revelle’s singing. It just doesn’t manage to maintain it for the full show, and that’s a shame because this is a comedy with real potential.
