You’re thinking Narcos right? Netflix’ crime/drama series set in Latin American about a drug lord who becomes rich through the illegal narcotics trade. Forget that, this is Nachos; The Wardrobe Theatre’s crime/drama/comedy show about tortilla chips covered with a cheese-based sauce and often served as a snack(306 calories per 100gms). In the Mexican border town of Juarez the local kingpin is making millions smuggling the tasty comestibles into the States. Nobody gets in his way and nothing can stop him, that is until the arrival of a rough round the edges and diligent SEA (Snack Enforcement Agent) Sam Walker. She has a personal mission to avenge a friend’s snack related death and is on assignment from the President of the USA himself.

Lotte Allan is the naive and eager cop, Andrew Kingston is the drugs baron. Together they play all the other parts; swiftly and slickly moving between roles with just a change of hats and funny accents. The format, and the actors, will be familiar to Wardrobe Theatre regulars who’ve seen Reservoir Mogs, Goldilock, Stock & Three Smoking Bears, Muppets Die Hard or any of the other pastiche comedies from The Wardrobe Theatre. This comedy format was born in the Airplane movies of the seventies and refined by the Wardrobe team through their Xmas parodies and improv shows. There is surreal humour, slapstick comedy and visual gags. Lotte and Andrew have a good comic chemistry, great timing and some snappy dialogue. Lotte’s face twists and contorts as she wrings as much humour as possible from each shouted line. Andrew the more subtle actor with the delightfully understated persona and think-and-you’ll-miss-it lines. Director Chris Collier keeps the tempo high and the energy rolling. Intelligent lighting and soundtrack compliment the scene changes without interfering in the flow. The narrative stream is aided by voice-overs and projections; cleverly interwoven into the show giving it a nice televisual atmosphere. A veces los actores hablan en español just to give that Latin American feel. But you don’t have to be fluent, no es muy importante, you’ll get the gist.

As the show progresses there is a rise in the tension, the violence and the guacamole. Dancing and prancing, the actors get more energetic and the character changes more frenetic. There is a somewhat predictable Spaghetti Western style crescendo but it’s still very funny. How many visual gags can you wring from a packet of nachos? Never mind, they are all hilarious. At the end there is also a political and ethical message, we could have had more of that, something darker and with more pathos would have completed the performance perfectly. Still, it’s a great show that takes you on a comedy journey and will keep you smiling along the way.    ★★★★☆   Adrian Mantle   10th August 2018