Ben Hur, Tricycle theatre review: Twisted togas rule in hilarious mini epic

Patrick Barlow's small-scale take on this epic tale is a palpable hit, says Fiona Mountford
Barely controlled mayhem both on stage and off: Ben Hur
Mark Douet
Fiona Mountford26 November 2015

Ah yes, Ben Hur, that well-known film of excellence and extremes. Eleven Oscars! 10,000 extras! 2,500 horses! In short, it’s the perfect piece to be transposed to a small stage in an off-West End theatre with a cast of four. Writer Patrick Barlow gave this sort of bringing-it-down-to-size treatment to The 39 Steps and it resulted in the biggest comedy hit of recent times. If General “Lew” Wallace, the writer of the impenetrable original book, can stop turning in his grave, hopes have got to be similarly high here.

Barlow’s conceit is a nifty one, and familiar from that other current comedy favourite The Play That Goes Wrong. A group of hapless fictional thesps are staging the show, which gives the green light to all sorts of barely controlled mayhem both on stage and off. But you’ve got to be good to be bad and director Tim Carroll keeps an admirably tight rein on proceedings, if not any actual horses. So off the energetic quartet of performers hare across the Roman Empire, endlessly recycling themselves into new roles and getting their plumed headgear and too-short togas into multiple tizzies.

We the audience help them recreate the epic sea battle by rowing hard as galley slaves. There are, inevitably, lulls in the humour, but they simply make us more receptive to the next laughs.

The wordplay is admirable. A palpable hit.

Until January 9, Tricycle (020 7328 1000, tricycle.co.uk)

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