Hot on the heels of the wildly successful fringe hit Police Cops: The Musical comes the sequel. The difficult second spoof. In reality, this iteration of the hilarious, bonkers and borderline insane police comedy ‘franchise’ has been developed over the best part of a decade so it’s hard to know exactly what came first.
But for all intents and purposes, this hour-long comedy riot is the follow-up to the madcap story of Jimmy Johnson’s quest to become the best damn police cop ever. For anybody who hasn’t seen the first musical instalment, spoiler alert: he did become the best damn police cop ever. So for the sequel, we meet his son Sammy Johnson, who joins forces with his dad’s old partner Harrison to fight crime… in space!
Police Cops in Space is an exquisite piece of comedy. Tom Roe, Nathan Parkinson and Zachary Hunt may not yet reach the same heights as the previous iteration but, realistically, this is a show still in its development. The vast majority of irreverent, absurdist jokes packed into this play land with precision. And even if a line doesn’t quite hit the mark, it doesn’t matter because you are already laughing at the next one.
The Police Cops trio have teased that this run at Underbelly Festival could be testing the water for their next musical project. It would be fascinating to see what collaborating composer Ben Adams could come up with to complement this even more wacky book. But, for now, it is just a play and that gives plenty of space for the group’s wonderful physical comedy.
There are plenty of callbacks to the original, which goes down a storm with the repeat audience members. The welcome return of excruciatingly low-budget props and built-in moments of improvisation are what makes Police Cops in Space so brilliant - alongside its talented company, of course. Roe, in particular, has an unrivalled skill for improv and it would be tempting to return night-after-night just to see where the sordid depths of his own imagination take him.
Undoubtedly, there are a few scenes that could and would be tighter if the show is to have a future beyond fringe theatre. While it is easy to draw parallels with Police Cops: The Musical (this reviewer is more than guilty on that score), it cannot be helped because the original was just so ridiculously brilliant. But the sequel more than stands up on its own and could very well follow a similar trajectory of success. Another comedic triumph from Hunt, Parkinson and Roe.
Police Cops in Space plays at Underbelly Festival until 18 August. Tickets from £24.50: here
Review: Tom Ambrose Photo: