The Play That Goes Wrong
These are chaotic times, and not only for our dearly beloved politicians. In The Play That Goes Wrong, Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are struggling with their production of whodunnit The Murder at Haversham Manor’
From the moment an audience member is enlisted to prop up a mantlepiece to the time the curtain drops over a collapsed set, the play-within-a-play is a painful failure. You can see why The Play That Goes Wrong has secured Broadway and West End residencies. You can also understand how it won an Olivier Award, and has ran for over two years. Nods to silent slapstick movies, Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers and Mr Bean had the sold-out Theatre Royal roaring with laughter.
If your comedy domain is improv, dry humour - more, for want of a better word, “intellectual” comedy styles - The Play That Goes Wrong might seem a bit dated. A woman getting knocked out by a swinging door and a serial word-mispronouncer might make you “ha” internally, but not belly laugh.
Saying that, the acting was near flawless, as was the script. The set design was the real star of the show, however. The two-storey English manor was the characters’ biggest enemy – windows, walls and photos collapsing exactly on cue, never before or after.
After watching The Play That Goes Wrong, you’ll leave feeling as battered as the cast. The Theatre Gods are against them, and it’s a wonder they get through the production at all. A chaotic farce, the performance is clever and entertaining to say the least. I can’t guarantee you’ll howl and cackle as much as the lady sat next to me - how much you enjoy it is ultimately down to your personal comedy tastes.
