REVIEW: SCRIPTLESS by Kieran Jordan, Camden Fringe at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre 22 - 24 Aug 2024

“No matter how this goes - no refunds!” ★★★

An Am Dram production entitled “The Engagement” is being staged by a band of inexperienced actors. At the last minute, one of the lead actors has dropped out, forcing the troop to drag a stranger in off the street as an emergency stand-in. As the stand-in doesn’t know the plot, their lines or what’s actually happening at any given moment, what could possibly go wrong?

The play within a play is that the stand-in is having an engagement party and tensions are bubbling over within their friendship group, due to angst with their ex. As the engagement party progresses, will they continue to stay engaged or break it off and pursue a relationship with their ex?

“Scriptless” is an ingenious premise, leaving lots of scope for spontaneity and hilarious improv. Think “Whose Line Is It Anyway” meets “The Play That Went Wrong”, but the results are varied. The night I went, the stand-in actor had low-key energy and seemed to be trying too hard to be funny, which stymied the flow.

There were still plenty of great comedic moments, such as the stand-in being forced to perform a dance, give a speech, bring a “surprise” prop and perform a secret handshake.

The cast give confident, ebullient performances. They work well as an ensemble and are clearly having a blast. The unimpressed asides of the supporting cast were the highlight for me, as they watched the car crash of a play continue, seemingly stupefied as to why.

A few more ad-libbed moments would have vastly improved proceedings, but the enthusiastic audience were clearly lapping it up.

Box Office: https://camdenfringe.com/events/scriptless/

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Annie Power is the Artistic Director of Open Page Productions, and an award-winning writer and producer.