Accidental Death of an Anarchist brings chaos to the Warwick Arts Centre

For the third night in a row, The Studio in the Warwick Arts Centre was brimming with a crowd eagerly anticipating the next two hours of disorder and chaos, set to be delivered by a fantastic ensemble cast.

Before the action was underway, there were 15 minutes of preshow with characters – in between storming on and off stage – frantically whispering to each other under the dim orange lamplight on a desk swamped in paperwork.  Other than that, an ominously broken widow and a pin board smothered in evidence were the only other clues as to what was to come. 

Act I saw the introduction of the charismatic lead – The Maniac, a character with as many excellently executed accents as sharply worn blazers.  He zips across the stage from one interaction to the next with boundless enthusiasm. The Maniac’s trademark trickery and deception eventually exhaust Inspector Bertozzo who leaves defeated, but not before being punched in the face by his superior, thanks to the brash lies of The Maniac in an opening just as whacky as it sounds.

It’s no secret that the cast is having a whale of a time on stage

It’s no secret that the cast is having a whale of a time on stage with jokes and improvised lines.  The slapstick use of the soundboard was so funny and so well delivered that even they can’t resist cracking a smile.

 The play is breathless, fizzing around the stage like a rubber band released after being held at full tension.  The energy of the cast is limitless, with each character bringing fresh laughter and a new dynamic into the mix.  Whether the new entrant is a bumbling excuse for a superintendent with a chronically unstuck moustache, or an equally bafflingly stupid cop with a penchant for a fist-bump, there is no shortage of amusement.  The audience reactions ranged from bemused cackles to raucous belly laughter.

The interval provides an opportunity for the audience to attempt to digest the previous they’d just witnessed

The absurdity of Act I culminates with The Maniac – after endlessly mocking and exposing the police’s lies regarding the events surrounding the titular anarchist’s death – forcing the coppers to sing an anarchist protest song. The interval provides an opportunity for the audience to attempt to digest the previous they’d just witnessed. With new knowledge of the play required (thank God for LitCharts!) it was time to settle in for a slightly less chaotic second act.

Bolstered by the arrival of a suave New York journalist who comes to sniff around for some real answers, and the new identity of The Maniac, this time an apparent forensics detective, the play becomes more coherent.   With the re-entry of the measly Inspector Bertozzo, who brings with him a diffused bomb, tensions are higher than ever. Despite his best efforts to alert everyone to the falsity of The Maniac’s identity, he is reduced to a punching bag for the rest of the police as they try to silence him before the reporter can understand what is happening.

The denouement is a rare moment of seriousness for the play. As The Maniac reveals his true identity in a monologue, it is delivered with startling candour in sharp contrast to the tone of the rest of the play, but is by no means an unwelcome shift. Crescendoing into an explosive ending, it is not one to be forgotten easily, with characters and their performances equally likely to stick around in the memory.