Review: Pleading Stupidity, The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘A joyously silly evening’

The premise for Maybe You Like It’s production of Pleading Stupidity is a classic Edinburgh Fringe show set-up; a whimsical, intriguing hook and minimal budget. The former in this case is that it’s the true story of two Australian teenagers on their gap year who have the genius idea to rob a bank in Colorado. In the same vein, it transcends its limited staging in the best way, providing a showcase for the significant extent of the performers’ talents.

The Aussie teens Chad and Brad are winningly played by Robert Merriam and Jamie De Villiers, both managing to be endearingly gung-ho yet charmingly silly as protagonists. The story is told in the style of verbatim theatre, the characters doing regular asides to the audience to explain the action.

We waste no time in following the two’s escalation from local sports store employees doing petty crime to armed robbery (with BB guns) and it feels pacey and exciting, thanks to the cast’s rapid movement of the limited scenery and effective lighting and sound effects.

Initially, it seems as if the two female bank tellers have the more thankless roles, setting up jokes for the men, which come thick and fast – when the former ask if the boys need help as they’re loitering suspiciously in the bank, they respond with ‘We’re just looking.’ But soon the story becomes more complicated, even if there’s never any question of them getting away with their crime, being the only Australians in town and having worn their store nametags.

As we follow the aftermath of the robbery for both the boys and the tellers, more characters pop up to round out the world. The cast do an excellent job of committing to each new one with gusto, even as the warmth of the lights and pace of the action means the swaggering detectives moustaches’ keep peeling off, to much laughter from the audience.

There is more depth than the premise might suggest too, such as the frustration of the tellers at the exuberantly sexist newspaper coverage of the crime; however, their meeting with the journalists does provide one of the biggest laughs, with one ‘on the keys,’ typing up notes and grooving along to smooth jazz. These touches of silliness, similarly demonstrated by the vapid TV interviewer and policeman reminiscing about his adventures in 80s Paris, expand the humour beyond the predictable.

The other two actors – Ellie Jay Cooper and Lili Herbert – have great fun too, initially as the tellers but then as everything from airport staff and FBI detectives to taxi drivers (‘Do you want to go the scenic route? It’s four hours longer and horrible.’) Each is well-characterised and distinct, and Herbert especially has mastered playing the more whimsical ones for maximum laughs, despite the occasional brevity of their appearances.

There are also excellent and not over-used meta touches, such as when the characters argue about the need for exposition at the start or when one of the boys asks for a pause because he’s ‘just setting up a montage for my friend’. Chad and Brad (‘Chadley and Bradley’ to the detectives) also develop more nuance than their initial chaotic silliness as the story goes on, especially Brad (Robert Merriam) who perspires and hyperventilates as the flimsiness of their plan becomes clear.

As we approach the end, it is time to address the question of how much of the story really is true – though it feels almost unnecessary after all we’ve been through. Overall however, it’s a joyously silly evening and the cast earn several deservedly enthusiastic rounds of applause. It was the first night of their tour, and hopefully the rest is as well-received as this; I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for further productions from Maybe You Like It.

Pleading Stupidity is at The Wardrobe Theatre on October 1-2 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com.

All photos: Maybe You Like It  

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