<<INSERTPLAY>> REVIEW

After a successful run at Camden Fringe 2023 and a sold-out run at the Etcetera Theatre last year, the team returned to present at Brighton Fringe 2024. The humorous play, <INSERTPLAY>, full of witty dialogue and guaranteed giggles, will be playing at the Actors Theatre, Brighton until the 29th of May. Read below for the <INSERTPLAY> review and an exclusive interview with actors and writers Sam and Joe.

"Four characters executed the play, but in actuality, they were three!"

As I entered the dimly lit room, the fairy lights provided the perfect amount of glimmer. I noticed the stage, adorned with trash like papers, cans, bottles, and a cereal box, as I took my seat. The theatre, residing in a small pub in Brighton known as The Actors, set a unique and intimate atmosphere.

 

The play starts strong with humorous entrances, creating gags of laughter. This chaotic presentation was both eventful and intelligent. The actors perform a time loop scene in which they can never leave, feeling trapped and compelled to recreate solutions to escape. Each iteration of the loop is filled with chuckles and entertainment, as the actors improvise the same concept with increasingly outlandish outcomes.

 

The play delivers a hysterical prophecy that leads the characters and actors to change their body language, accents, and personas, creating a stage presence that kept the audience engaged and glued to their seats. Sam (Sam Toocaram) plays an egotistical actor who, despite never managing to learn his lines, switches effortlessly from one character to another, honing body language and accents with skill. Joe (Joe Sear-Myles), portraying an uptight writer unable to finish his play for years, garnered laughter at every step, with his personality traits of lateness and absenteeism adding to the humour. The Stage Manager, aka Steve (Charles Tighe and Paddy Echlin), plays a tired and miserable character who just wants to go home but gets dragged into the chaos, adding to the already vibrant confusion. At times, it felt like the audience itself was part of the play, blurring the line between reality and fiction.

The play references popular films and television shows such as Game of Thrones, Lost, Frozen, and even a recreated scene from Spider-Man: No Way Home's pointing meme, where all three characters point at each other.

 

The energy between the characters flowed smoothly, creating great chemistry that lasted until the very end. The ending is possibly different each night, involving the audience by asking them how they think the play should conclude, showcasing the actors' impressive improvisational skills.

 

Humorously phenomenal and chaotically entertaining, <INSERTPLAY> guarantees laughter from start to finish!

Interview

Had the great opportunity to interview the lovely writers and actors of INSERTPLAY, Joe Sear- Myles and Sam Toocaram alongside their producer Ella Griffiths (producer of “Banana Boat” winner of Yarns Film Competition 2023).

 

What were your first thoughts upon reading the play?

Joe – well, I came up with the idea of the play when I was studying at Middlesex University, it came towards the end of Uni, and I just wrote 100 pages.

 

Sam- Joe and I went to the same secondary school together, when Joe showed me the script, I was like there is something very interesting about it, three actors who get trapped in their own play, so interesting!

But the comedian in me was reading the bits and was going like uh, that’s messy. It’s a very complicated play, but it’s very funny the pun is from where the humour comes from. A lot is improvised in the rehearsal room, will always put something in and be like it’s so funny, so every time we do something I was like this is good but what am I trying to do with this?

 

Was it hard for you to pick on the given character or did it come naturally?

Joe- for me, I had written the play so I could be in it.

 

Josline- so you created your character?

 

Joe- yeah so, I tried to base it on myself really and what I kind of wanted as an actor.

 

Sam- The character is kind of me, but in real life as an actor I try to be hardworking, I love it. But sometimes you just meet these actors who are just full of themselves, and they treat other people like shit, whereas for me it’s all about working and respecting the people around you, it is the best thing you can have but my character plays that hateful actor who is just full of themselves. Thinks he is the best person and thinks he is Robert Downey Jr himself, who can play a lot of different characters.

 

What is the one thing you are going to take with you from this play?

Sam – A lot of flyers hahaha, I am not good at accents I am not good at playing into these characters but the one thing I will take with me is probably going into these different characters it is a lot of them in so. It’s like oh I can do this, and I can do that, doing all these different people but doing them all in one play is mad!

 

Tell me one thing you discovered that you hate about each other?

Joe- So one of the things when we were writing the play that I didn’t like about Sam was, but I also knew was necessary was how Sam is really particular about how he wants the line to be, always thinking about adding different things to those lines he would be like that’s a stupid joke, it is meant to be stupid you could do something better other than stupid.

 

Sam- It has got to that point where we have been joking around so much together, I guarantee you today after the show while we are having drinks one of us will do something silly and it’s funny and should get a laugh, but we are just sick of making each other laugh. Joe will just look at me and be like “Seriously that stop it, I am just sick of it”. It was funny.

Joe – Yes, I know Sam, I get it hahaha, I understand what’s funny.

It is hard not to be annoyed when you have been with each other for so long it is just our sense of humour which is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Sam- we are now polymers.