Set in and around the same high school, a series of nine inter-related sketches written by Nic Sampson, produced by Rose Guise and Eleanor Bishop, and performed by 13 actors working with five directors, coalesce into an extremely entertaining hour of character-based comedy.

Sampson has a sharp eye and ear for what makes people tick and insightfully probes their pretentions, dreams and vulnerabilities to deliver the blueprint for unerringly good performances in this Wellington production of Idiots: Back 2 School, which premiered last year in Auckland (a spin-off, of sorts, from the Sampson’s earlier and more random sketch show Idiots).

A massed choir kicks things off with a rousing rendition of the school song, ‘How I Love St Peters’ (since 1893), the excellent music and lyrics by Gareth Hobbs.

In class, a Mr Watson (Mike Fowler) introduces himself as the substitute for a teacher who has suffered a personal trauma. Oh how we laugh at her loss. But when he reveals his is the big brother of an asthmatic boy in the class, we become more aware that he is a sadistic bastard and have to retune our antennae as to what’s funny and what’s not. Directed by Anya Tate-Manning, this scene hooks our attention at all the right levels.

What red-blooded rugby player would not be delighted to find his girlfriend has snuck into the boys’ changing room? But Jarred (James Winter) has to lead the First XIV’s challenge for the elusive Fraser Shield tonight – at a time that just happens to clash with the School Formal. Casey (Hayley Brown) is expecting they’ll go to the Formal together but not even her new tattoo will turn his head. There’s a surprise twist here as to what is now going down / coming up for Jarred. Suffice to say his whole value system has changed. Director Robin Kerr crafts the scene well.

In the Music Room, the aforementioned asthmatic, Brian (Jack Shadbolt) is preparing to practise his clarinet alongside a saxophone, to be played by Sally (Melissa Reeve). A piquant and poignant scene (directed by Eleanor Bishop), we soon see through the overlay of largely inconsequential chit-chat to their unexpressed feelings and missed opportunities.

The ever-stressed principal Ms Henderson (Jessica Robinson) retreats to her office and secret creature comforts only to find herself haunted by the restless spirit of the school’s first principal, Mr Fredric (Martyn Wood). While his red velvet smoking jacket and suave demeanour suggest he is an aesthete, his quest turns out to be to redirect her emphasis on academic excellence back to regaining that wretched Rugby shield.

Abetted by Rachel Marlow’s well-place and operated lighting, director Kate McGill makes full use of Bats’ back wall portals for Fredric’s manifestations. And his ability to make Henderson do things involuntarily makes for some brilliant physical comedy. This scenario is returned to later, adding Jarred and more tattoos to the mix to even greater comic effect.

Meanwhile, having engaged with the supernatural, we move on to a supra-human scene (‘supra’ in the sense that Seagulls are often above us, physically at least), directed by Uther Dean. The gulls’ main concern is the quality of chips they’ve been able to scavenge. But one (a twitchy, manic and screechy Bryony Skillington) has found a ‘plastic chip’ (a.k.a. a cellphone) which she shows off to her companion (a comparatively serene Simon Haren). She has been receiving texts about the Formal and has been texting back …

This links through to a scene (also directed by Dean) set in a supposedly private spot behind the school hall. James (Nick Zwart) is indulging in self-gratification unaware he is being observed by Cam (Hayden Frost). Typical adolescent male conversation ensues, interrupted by a text from guess who to Cam, and somewhat fuelled by questionable herbal substances.

In the Teachers’ Lounge (directed by Kerr), the emotional maturity of Phys Ed teacher Peter “to get the ball rolling” Frew (Aidan Weekes) comes into question amid his fractious interaction with superior Science teacher Mr “Marlene is with me now” Andrews (Ed Watson).

This leads into the second Principal’s Office scene, where the clash between the Rugby game and the Formal, between responsibility-cum-duty and love-cum-lust, come to a dramatic head.  

The finale (directed by Anya Tate-Manning) evokes the Formal, wherein random dancing formalises into a sequence, suggesting that their behaviour and ours are not that far apart.  

Don’t be put off by the title. Idiots: Back 2 School is quality comedy.
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