The Time Machine
Theatre Royal Bath ★★★★✩
AS you would expect with a play entitled The Time Machine when the advertised running time is two hours ten minutes, including interval, the curtain came down right on the dot. Just how the three actors, Dave Hearn, Amy Revelle and Michael Dylan managed to achieve that aim after the, at times, almost near mayhem that had gone on during the evening, is almost as big a mystery as H.G. Wells’ theory of time travel they had cheerfully been exploring.
Somewhere along the line the bones of Wells’ famous 1895 novel The Time Machine are to be found, but they are well hidden behind the comedy created by writers Steven Canny and John Nicholson, as interpreted by a trio of actors who play at such a frantic pace that you fear at times for their personal safety. Often called the Father of Science Fiction, H.G. Wells, in this story and others like The War Of The Worlds, uncannily predicted events far in the future – nuclear power, air combat, biological engineering – all of which he hoped would lead (but alas has not at present) to the formation of a Utopian society.
With Dave Hearn, one of the original cast of The Play That Goes Wrong, at the helm, playing Wells’ great, great grandson, those serious thoughts are a mere shadow in the background. In the forefront of this tale are his attempt to prove to his two actor friends, Amy Revelle and Michael Dylan, more intent on rehearsing their production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, that his great-greatgrandfather’s time machine works. In proving his point Dave puts Dylan’s life at risk, just before the interval, leaving the audience to ponder on how things will work out. With the help of three members of the audience tempted to join the cast on stage; a mobile phone borrowed, I hope she got it back intact, from another patron, and some wonderfully controlled histrionics from Amy Revelle, something that looks so easy from the safety of a theatre seat, but is so difficult to judge so finely as Amy did, Michael is finally saved.
As you may have gathered it is all done in the name of entertainment, in which nothing is sacred, including a brief interlude in the company of Meghan and Harry, and characters from EastEnders. Despite Dave, Amy and Michael bouncing verbal and physical comedy off one another at speed, and excellent timing, squeezing every drop of humour on offer, there are moments when the joke goes on too long and the fun level drops.
Those moments are few and far between, leaving the audience still perhaps uncertain about H.G. Wells’ theories on time travel, but having enjoyed the two hours ten minutes in the company of this talented trio.