Quiz

by James Graham

seen at the Noel Coward Theatre on 12 April 2018

Daniel Evans directs this transfer from Chichester of James Graham's new play, featuring Keir Charles as Chris Tarrant (and other quizmasters), Gavin Spokes as Charles Ingram and Stephanie Street as Diane Ingram. It briefly traces the development of British TV quiz shows before focusing on a notorious case in which Charles Ingram, a contestant on the hugely successful quiz Who Wants to be a Millionaire? was accused of colluding with his wife and an associate to gain the prize by cheating - the others were supposed to have been coughing audibly when the correct answer was read out, thus allowing Charles to select it.

The play cleverly conflates the idea of a trial with the trappings of a TV reality show, allowing for the necessary exposition to be as entertaining as possible, then presenting the circumstances of Ingram's participation in the show from the prosecution's point of view. By the time of the interval the case looks damning, and the audience is invited to vote on the verdict, which is overwhelmingly 'guilty'. In the second half, the situation is presented again from the defence's point of view, bringing in added circumstantial detail and questioning the basis of some of the prosecution's case. A second audience vote yields a different result, but not necessarily an acquittal.

The whole production is full of energy and razzmatazz, as befits a TV show filmed in front of an audience. Keir Charles is a wonderfully versatile host figure, providing cringe-worthy warm-up routines, then impersonating a number of hosts before concentrating on his main performance as Chris Tarrant, which he executes with hilarious precision. As there are several large screens in the auditorium it is a delicious pleasure to watch the close-ups of his moues and eyebrow-raisings while interacting with the geeky bumblings of Gavin Spokes's Charles Ingram. These provide the central encounters of the drama and are extremely enjoyable.

The background to the Ingrams' story is provided in scenes showing Diana's increasing passion for pub quiz shoes, the obsession of her brother Adrian Pollock who builds a machine to increase the speed of answering questions (a requirement for becoming a competitor), and the existence of a 'syndicate' dedicated to exploiting any weaknesses in the competition format.

The result is an energetic and often hilarious examination of the British enthusiasm for quizzing as it collides with a equally British obsession with fair play. At the same time, the ease with which sober legal arguments can be overwhelmed by emotive appeals to group reactions is exemplified by the very format of the play, in which the audience is encouraged to become TV jurors on the basis of a couple of hours of pure entertainment. Once again James Graham has brilliantly probed an aspect of modern life which is both pervasive and all too often unexamined.