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STORY
The Play That Goes Wrong West End
Theatre
The Duchess Theatre
Duration
125 minutes
Age Restrictions
6+ years
The Play That Goes Wrong is the most improbable hit in the whole of the West End. It grew from the grassroots up, gradually winning a fanbase as word-of-mouth spread like a wildfire. Today, after five years at the Duchess Theatre, it is a tourist attraction in its own right: accessible, entertaining and very, very English.
Framed as a creaky am-dram performance that comes apart at the seams, The Play That Goes Wrong does exactly what it says on the tin. It is the ultimate comedy of errors: a farce fashioned out of forgotten lines, missed cues and wobbly scenery.
Read MoreLed by its demure director Chris, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is mounting an outmoded country house crime thriller The Murder at Haversham Manor – not a million miles away from The Mousetrap. There’s a corpse laid out on the chaise longue in the oak-panelled room, albeit one with a tickly cough, and it’s up to one actor’s fruity detective to put the pieces together – even as the show itself falls apart.
It all started in a small room above a pub in 2012 A group of drama school graduates put together a small-scale, one-act comedy show with their clowning tutor, Mark Bell, in a 50-seat theatre on the London fringe, the Old Red Lion. On the first night, there were just four people in the audience. Fast-forward five years and an extended, upscale version of the same show was playing on Broadway with a Tony nomination to its name.
That went to Nigel Hook’s ludicrous set: theatre’s very own Mousetrap board. Almost every element of it is spring-loaded with an in-built gag. The doors stick, shelves collapse and paintings fall off the walls. The show’s crescendo owes a big debt to Buster Keaton’s slapstick.
The joy is watching actors attempt to keep calm and carry on as everything collapses around them. The more they try to improvise their way out of trouble, the more they tie themselves up in knots. Mishaps multiply, things fall apart and the laughs only escalate. The Play That Goes Wrong gets almost everything right.
Info
Play That Goes Wrong Tickets
Choose your seats via our live booking platform. Once payment is completed, you will receive an email confirmation with your booking reference number and eTickets.
Upon arrival at the venue, display the eTickets on your phone or show the box office a printed ticket.
Which Theatre
The Play That Goes Wrong is showing at the Duchess Theatre, located at 3 – 5 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5LA.
Any Questions
If you have any questions about your ticket purchase, you can contact our customer services team on 020 3670 8887
Good to Know
Strobe lighting is used several times during the performance.
Age Recommendation
For ages six and above.
Can I Video or Take Photos?
The use of camera and sound recording equipment is strictly prohibited.
Reviews
CREATIVE
Cast and Creative
Cast
Bobby Hirston – Max
Benjamin McMahon – Dennis
Gabriel Paul – Trevor
Steven Rostance – Jonathan
Catherine Dryden – Annie
Elena Valentine – Sandra
Jake Curran – Chris
Kaseem Amore – Chris
Louisa Sexton – Understudy
Laura White – Understudy
David Brown – Understudy
Liam Horrigan – Understudy
Creative
Henry Lewis
Jonathan Sayer
Henry Shields
Mark Bell
Roberto Surace
Ric Mountjoy
Nigel Hook
Rob Falconer