Having seen James Campbell’s Onomatopoeia
Society and thoroughly enjoying it I was looking forward to
attending his Spinistry of Moonerism.
Both plays run at the same time and feature the same cast of
characters.
Unfortunately the Spinistry of Moonerism
was a bit of a disappointment after the giddy highs of Onomatopoeia. It may be unfair to compare the two since they are two
separate plays, however since they link together it’s hard not to.
The cast members are more than competent, unfortunately
it’s the material which dragged the play down.
Physical comedy drew the main laughs but
the concept of Spoonerism seemed to be pitched at too high a level
for the children in the audience to fully comprehend.
The adults were able to quickly work out which words were
being spoonerised but to the children it must have appeared to be
gobbledygook. By the end they were shifting around in their seats and
clambering onto their parents.
Signs that it hadn’t fully held their attention.
The plot revolved around the Spinistry of
Moonerisms headteacher – Maisy Crunter – hiding her baby in a
desk drawer and concealing it from everyone around her.
A far cry from Onomatopoeia’s surreal ridiculousness and
far less funny.
It was worthwhile seeing the overlay
between the plays but if I hadn’t seen Onomatopoeia first I
wouldn’t be chancing a ticket on it based upon the evidence here.
**
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