Accessibility Review of Mischief’s ‘Thespians’

/ thevicritic

Hi everyone and welcome to another review!

This time I got the chance to go and review ‘Thespians’, written by Mischief’s Jonathan Sayer (‘The Play That Goes Wrong!’, ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ and ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’), with music and lyrics by Ed Zanders.

Set in 534 BC in ancient Greece on a small island with a tiny community of five, nothing ever happens… until one day it does! Thespians, his sister Poly, Adonis — the head of the guard — and the elders are forced to travel to Atlantis for a deadly prayer competition. But suddenly, everything begins to change.

Going into this show, I had medium expectations as this was from the same company behind ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’, as well as their popular TV shows. So when I got invited to this by Mercury Theatre, I was very interested to see what they would do with a musical comedy.

A colorful stage musical scene with actors dressed in ancient Greek-style costumes. In the center, a young light-skinned man with short blond hair stands on a round marble-patterned platform. He wears a white sleeveless tunic with a deep V-neck, gold trim, and a wide brown and gold belt. His arms are raised enthusiastically, mouth open in mid-song or shout, and he wears brown sandals and gold wrist bracers. On his left and right are two light-skinned performers in matching costumes: pink sleeveless jumpsuits with split skirts, gold belts, metallic gold shoulder pieces, dark purple capes, and bronze-style helmets with crests. Each holds a tall spear upright. The performer on the left poses with one arm extended and knees bent in a dance stance. The one on the right has an animated expression, mouth open, with the spear angled slightly forward. Behind them, slightly to the right, stands a person with short dark hair, glasses, and medium skin tone wearing a bronze muscle armor chest plate, red knee-length skirt panels, and an orange cape, watching the central trio. Further right is a woman with medium-brown skin and curly shoulder-length hair, dressed in a light blue, flowing, off-the-shoulder gown with layered ruffles. A bow is in her hand and a quiver of arrows hangs at her side. The set is designed like a marble Greek temple, with pale blue and pink marbled columns, arches, and a balcony rail across the back. The floor has an ornate circular design in blues and golds with stylized patterns. The background lighting is purple, giving the scene a fantastical, mythological atmosphere.

From the very start of the show, I could tell it was going to be a little tricky visually, as most of the cast’s costumes — aside from Adonis and ‘The Tyrant’ — were very similar in colour to the set. Thankfully, the lighting helped with this to a degree, but it is definitely something to consider. The same also applies to some of the moving set pieces.

With this also being a musical, I first need to say that the singing performances from everyone were phenomenal, as were the songs themselves. However, after the show I did feel that I could have done with a little more story and slightly fewer songs, as there were moments where multiple musical numbers happened one after another. They were great songs, but I personally wanted a bit more time for the story to breathe between them.

I loved the entire cast! Marc Pickering (Adonis) delivered an exciting comedy performance, and I definitely got my fix of classic Mischief humour. Claire-Marie Hall (Poly) had an excellent singing voice, and honestly I would have loved one more solo from her alongside the one she already has in the show. I also really enjoyed Rhys Taylor as ‘The Tyrant’. Their performance and comedy style reminded me a lot of Anthony Stuart-Hicks. But genuinely, the whole cast were outstanding.

Colorful stage performance with four actors standing on marble-like platforms. They are in mid-pose with arms raised, as if celebrating or singing. All four wear matching blue tunic-style costumes tied with light-colored rope belts, and theatrical half-masks with exaggerated noses and expressions, reminiscent of ancient Greek comedy masks. The center actor’s tunic is shorter, showing bare legs with sandals; the others wear longer, robe-length tunics. Behind them is a large curtain painted with a night sky: deep blue background, clouds, yellow stars, and a crescent moon framed by draped blue “fabric” along the top. On both sides of the stage are cream-colored stone-like columns and arches suggesting an ancient Greek temple or theater. Tall vertical banners hang on each side, reddish-orange with the words “THE DIONYSIA” written vertically. Warm stage lighting from above creates a golden glow on the actors and platforms, with some purple and blue light on the backdrop. At the very bottom edge, the tops of a few audience members’ heads are just visible, facing the stage.

So onto the accessibility ratings:

If you have limited to no vision:
I would say that, because there is limited physical comedy, you will likely have a lot of fun with this show. There is also a Touch Tour and an Audio Described performance on Saturday 23rd May, which is a fantastic addition and really helps give a fuller understanding of the show as a whole. However, if you cannot get tickets for the audio described performance, I still think you would have a wonderful time, and I would highly recommend this show.

If you have limited to useful vision:
As mentioned before, the colour palette of the show is made up of very pale tones, which may make parts of the production difficult visually. I would recommend sitting in Row C or closer if possible, to help get the best view of the action and facial expressions.

‘Thespians’ is running at Mercury Theatre from Saturday 9th until 23rd May 2026!

If you love anything that Mischief has done in the past, then you will absolutely love this too. It’s a great night out, full of laughs and plenty of comedy chaos! You can find information and tickets on the Mercury Theatre website.

Until next time,
The VI Critic.

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