Quiz
★★★★☆ Strong
Church Hill Theatre: Wed 13 – Sat 17 May 2025
Review by Tom Ralphs
Quiz, from Leitheatre at the Church Hill Theatre to Saturday, is a cleverly staged revival of James Graham’s play about the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? “Coughing Major” scandal.
In 2001, before smartphones offered 24/7 access to all the knowledge the internet holds, Major Charles Ingram, together with his wife Diane and friend Tecwen Whittock, were accused of a far more basic method of cheating.
The case gripped the UK as they were tried in court for attempting to defraud the makers of TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? by the simple method of coughing from the audience when host Chris Tarrant read out the correct answer from four possible options.
The cast of Leitheatre’s Quiz. Pic Sammi Watson
James Graham tells a fictionalised version of that story combined with a history lesson on the evolution of quiz shows, giving an insight into the reasons why the British public were fascinated with the case and longing for a guilty verdict.
Leith Theatre’s revival is cleverly staged. A simple set, constructed by Derek Blackwood, Rik Kay and Stephen Hajducki, consists of what could be a jury box or a public gallery in a courtroom. It sits in front of a large TV screen that serves multiple roles: acting as place marker, monitor displaying quiz show questions to a studio audience, and also a TV showing adverts from the time in a clever commercial break between the two acts.
The set is complimented by Mark Hajducki and Stephen Hajducki’s lighting, that enables a range of moods, atmospheres and settings to be evoked, with additional help from Kit Lawson’s sound and projection.
active participants
The world of live TV is further added to in the way Graham’s script is structured, allowing director Lewis Baird to frequently break the fourth wall from the opening moments, when Sam Eastop’s warm up man welcomes the audience to the recording of a show – immediately making them active participants rather than passive spectators.
This is continued in the first act with the use of QR codes to allow for votes to be cast and questions to be answered as well as people being called out of the audience to compete for prizes that remind you that not all shows have million pound prize funds. The uncomfortably fine line between a high profile court case being a vehicle for justice or entertainment is shown as the TV studio becomes the court room and the audience become the jury, with little to suggest a difference between the two.
Chris Kelly (Charles), Jane Bradley (Diane), Sam Easop (Adrian Pollock). Pic Sammi Watson
Charles and Diane Ingrams are played by Christopher Kelly and Jane Bradley. As Charles, Kelly is the archetypal public schoolboy turned soldier. Uncomfortable in himself and ill-equipped to cope with the rigours of ordinary life, Kelly gives shade to the character and takes him from the pantomime villain he was depicted as, to someone who, if not necessarily innocent, may not have been as willingly guilty as he was thought to have been.
As Diane, Bradley gives a colder, more calculating performance, convincing as the instigator of the plan and also highlighting how the lack of empathy she generated could cloud opinions of her.
The rest of the 11 main cast members play multiple roles alongside a further 5 members of the company that complete the ensemble. Eastop, whose performance as warm up man would have triggered flashbacks for anyone who has ever been in a TV audience, plays Adrian Pollock, Diane’s brother and serial quiz show participant. Pollock’s lack of charisma is a compliment rather than a criticism of his performance, showing him as the person who can get overlooked for longer than he should have been.
star turn
Kevin Rowe gives a star turn as Chris Tarrant, capturing the mannerisms and movements of the TV presenter with superb accuracy. Although his other recreations of quiz show greats Des O’Connor, Jim Bowen and Lesley Crowther lack the same attention to detail in their brief appearances.
Laura Thomson (Sonia Woodley QC) with Mike Paton (Paul Spooner). Pic Sammi Watson
Dougie Arbuckle switches effortlessly between awkward conspirator Whittock and bombastic TV producer David Liddiment, looking for big shows and big ratings. As both QC for the prosecution and quizmaster, Sean Quinn moves between forensic pursuer of the truth and flashy entertainer.
His opposite number for the defence, Laura Thomson also turns into Elsie Tanner, one of two Coronation Street characters returned to life for a short scene used as much to provide comic relief than to illustrate the limitations of Charles Ingram’s knowledge of the more low brow culture that Liddiment wants the show to focus on.
Mike Paton plays show creator Paul Smith, as well as other smaller roles. Whilst not always seeming confident in his delivery, he generally merges the dual sides of Smith, bringing together the introverted shy quiz geek, with the deeper intellect that is needed to create a TV show that became a worldwide phenomenon.
a bewildering array
Rachel Johnstone, Lee Shedden and Freya O’Horo as the other cast members playing named parts, help to keep the play moving as a bewildering array of characters and side stories play out.
That the play needs such a large cast is a sign of its main weakness: at over two and a half hours it is too long and takes too many side routes and diversions, instead of focusing on the central story and theme.
That said, on the whole, this is a very strong production and the script itself is structured in a way that encourages audiences to think not just about this case but also about what plays into our belief on innocence and guilt more generally.
Running time: Two hours and 40 minutes (including one interval)
Church Hill Theatre, 33 Morningside Road, EH10 4DR.
Wed 14 – Sat 17 May 2025.
Mon-Fri: 7.30pm; Sat mat only: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Leitheatre’s Quiz company. Pic Sammi Watson
ENDS
