“Continuous roaring laughter and anticipation for the next disaster”
Mischief Theatre is without a doubt a giant in theatre and comedy. Since their founding in 2008 they have created and produced 10 major stage shows, so the opportunity to see the arrival of their 13th cast for their hit show The Play That Goes Wrong couldn’t be passed up.
The show occupies a specific category in theatre where chaos, although rehearsed, is essential to the story telling. Performed under the guise of the disorganised Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society. The drama troupe seem way in over their heads accidentally performing the troupes leader Chris Bean’s directorial debut “Murder At Havisham Manor” in the Duchess Theatre due to a “clerical error”.
From the word go the mishaps begin, ahead of the show starting as the audience trickles in. The cast are frantically roaming around the rows of the auditorium looking for a lost dog.
The production has stood the test of time, the original cast expected the show to last no longer than 10 weeks let alone 12 years. So it was refreshing to see a show stick to what it knows and not feel the need to revamp, edit or add modern references to make it feel relevant. The script, costumes and venue have remained the same since the original show.
Written and created by LAMDA alumni Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis and Henry Shields. The trio made sure to wring the disaster out of every scene, continuously layering mishap on top of mishap. Which results in continuous roaring laughter and anticipation for the next disaster.
The show’s clever concept sees every theatre company’s nightmares unfold in two hours from forgetting lines and props breaking, to injuries and technical errors. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society power through trying their hardest to maintain the momentum required to tell a convincing murder mystery. The whodunit genre proves to be a great playground for things to go wrong – tensions rise when time is of the essence and errors are in abundance.
Like every good murder mystery this play leaves no loose ends, every reference initially appearing random eventually finds its place. In a post show address to the audience the cast thanked the audience for coming to see “London’s landmark comedy”. Which is an apt description- if you haven’t seen The Play That Goes Wrong, you should.
This show runs at the Duchess Theatre until 3rd October 2027. Tickets here.