Our man in Havana is a fast paced farce in the best of traditions, created by a young theatre company entitled Spies Like Us. Set in Cuba during the cold War era a struggling English vacuum cleaner salesman seizes on an opportunity to earn some much needed additional income by spying on behalf of MI6.
The initial impression you are struck by during this performance is the energetic performance by the cast. Song and dance routines are followed by rapid conversion to say, the cast driving on a car, having a drink in a bar, or riding a horse. The pace is unrelenting and nobody is ever out of breath. The choreography involved is breath-taking as the ladies are hurled around throughout the performance by the men, the strength, stamina, agility combined with the requirement to get the presentation step perfect to achieve the success of the show indicated a high level of rehearsal just to get things right. And it is flawlessly delivered.
The main character, James Wormold, is ably performed by Alex Holley and the cast complement him brilliantly. I particularly enjoyed the performance of Tullio Campanale, for an actor so baby faced he played two devilish characters, the evil Cuban chief of police and an exiled eccentric German doctor with a dubious past with a touch of menace which belied his tender years and suggests a future in such roles, age will clearly benefit him!
The audience were clearly delighted by this show and if you enjoy traditional yet witty and fast pace comedy theatre you will enjoy this. If nothing else admire their inventively clever use of the few props they use, which is basically the component parts of a vacuum cleaner cleverly recycled into many distinct functions during the performance.
An enthusiastic and flawlessly delivered display, if this is your cup of tea I recommend it.
Our Man in Havana at the Edinburgh Fringe – https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Our%20Man%20in%20Havana%22
Steve Heald – Writing is my passion, contact me on steve_j_heald if you would like me to write for you.