The Play That Goes Wrong is a comedy masterpiece. A slapstick, laugh out loud production that will brighten anyone’s day.

I first heard about the show thanks to a performance on The Royal Variety Show. They delivered a nine-minute section of the play, which led to nine minutes of laughter. I booked tickets almost immediately.  

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The Cornley Drama Society

The show follows an amateur dramatics group who are running a production of The Murder at Haversham Manor.

Enter stage left a group of imbeciles.

There’s a motley crew of terrible actors to laugh at. You have the one with script written all over their hand, the over the top actor, the stuck-up director and the one who breaks the fourth wall.

It reminded me of the time my twin sister and I played a small part in ‘Guys and Dolls’. We were selling newspapers in a stall, which as my High School debut, I took rather seriously. My sister however, spent most of her time smiling and waving at our parents. We have it on camera and it’s the funniest memory ever.

You have to give the cast credit as it is really difficult to be credible yet ‘hammy’ and I think they all hit the nail on the head. Their subtle yet over the top reactions and expressions were incredible. Bravo.  

An utter disaster

If you combine the incompetent actors with an incapable technical crew, you have an utter disaster.

And by that, I mean the whole show came to pieces.

Lighting failed. Musical interludes over ran. Walls collapsed and actors’ dreams were shattered.

The first half was much stronger than the second as all the jokes were fresh and we met the characters for the first time. It was very exciting. But by the second act, we already knew the set ups. So instead the scenes just got bigger, louder and more absurd.

This all happened alongside the murder mystery, which you could just about follow. Unfortunately, because of the absolute mayhem, I couldn’t hear the reason behind the killing but it was a small price to pay for such a fun production.

So if you’re up for a belly hurting laugh and a bit of escapism, then this has to be the show for you.

(AD) Buy tickets to see The Play That Goes Wrong at The Duchess Theatre.

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