Bonding Time

When comedy writers Michael Ward and Stephen Hall sat down in a cafe to discuss a new show idea back in 2010, they had barely an inkling of what would come of it. The duo, whose television writing credits include Talkin' 'bout Your Generation and Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, wanted to turn their mutual passion for the James Bond films into a comedic stage show. The result, Bond-A-Rama!, sold out its initial season at Chapel Off Chapel in 2011, and is now returning for an encore run.

Ward is the first to admit that a Bond-inspired stage show was a calculated move. “[Hall and I are] both huge Bond fans, and I had the idea – a pretty commercial idea, I suppose – of putting all these best bits of all the Bond films on stage all together,” he explains. Having seen the success of similar productions, such as the Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Ward was hopeful that a Bond show could have a big impact. “I thought a Bond show would be huge, because there's a lot of love for Bond out there,” he says, adding, “…and I thought we'd have a ball doing it, too.”

That could well be the secret to Bond-A-Rama!'s success. To put a show together that aims so squarely to delight Bond's fans, it makes sense that it should be written by a couple of bona fide die-hards. “We certainly watched all the films again,” says Ward, in what might just be the understatement of the year. He and Hall went through every Bond film (22 at the time – the upcoming Skyfall will be the 23rd) with a fine-tooth comb, looking for how the films could be translated into a stage production. Of course, they didn't want to make it too easy on themselves: “We talked about the structure, how to join [all the films] together, and we made rules for ourselves. We didn't want to go chronologically, because that would be too boring and too predictable.”

Instead, they found that the films tended to link together via their adherence to the Bond formula. “Bond's been around for 50 years, and it's been so successful because the Bond films have this formula,” explains Ward. “People come back to the films because they know what they're going to get. Bond, Bond girls, great stunts, a really good baddie, a pretty cool henchman, the great Bond theme at the start… All these elements are very familiar throughout every Bond film.”

Ward and Hall certainly put plenty of work into writing and rewriting Bond-A-Rama!, but until opening night, they still weren't sure whether the show worked. Fortunately, the audience reaction quickly soothed any concerns Ward had. “I just remember the huge wave of laughter that erupted at the start of the show, and that sort of proved that the show was sort of the right tone,” he says. “We took great comfort in the fact that the show got good laughs.”

Now Bond-A-Rama! is returning to Chapel Off Chapel, and Ward hopes this new season will delight newcomers and returning fans alike. The show has been updated from the 2011 version, with one particularly delightful addition: a satellite cameo from George Lazenby, the Australian actor who played Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Ward is thrilled that Lazenby is participating in the show, although he admits that the Aussie isn't his favourite Bond – that, naturally, would be Sean Connery.