Surprised to see another review for the long-standing The Play That Goes Wrong? Well, it's another year, which means another new cast takes to the stage at the West End's Duchess Theatre as this slapstick comedy play within a play celebrates its 11th year.
You'd expect to sit pre-performance in front of a curtain, but not with this show. Some of the cast still seem to be 'fixing' things on set unsuccessfully, while others are frantically wandering around the audience trying to find the missing dog, 'Winston'. Things already look like they're not off to a good start.
When it is 'ready' to get underway, we're introduced to the show: this is The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society's am-dram performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor.
And things start to go wrong from the very beginning. A door is jammed, the mantelpiece is broken, and the chaos only escalates from there. Trying to get it right this time on stage is the 11th cast, comprising: Izzy Edmunds-Clarke, Jack Hardwick, Robert Jackson, Jonty Peach, Charlotte Scott, Mitesh Soni, Tom Wainwright, and Ronnie Yorke.
Charles Haversham is found dead on the night he's celebrating his engagement to Florence Colleymoore. His body is discovered by her brother Thomas Colleymoore and Charles' trusted butler, Perkins. Others at the festivities include Charles' brother, Cecil Haversham; the Lighting and Sound Operator, Trevor; and stage manager Annie, who later takes to the stage to play Florence. So there begins the whodunnit as Inspector Carter is called to investigate this grisly affair.
The first act feels a little slow in terms of slapstick, generating small smiles at best. Then again, others in the audience are finding some scenes genuinely hilarious. The audience is mixed with people of all ages, including teenagers and young children. Some jokes seem to land and others don't, but comedy is subjective.
The second half definitely picks up the pace – the jokes are funnier and punchier, and the slapstick just becomes more and more audacious. This time around, you can hear the raucous laughter filling the auditorium.
This show is a triumph of timing. Anything that needs to go wrong or needs to be thrown, caught, or missed, occurs precisely to the second. The actors are brilliant at making it look like everything is falling apart – even the end when the set comes crashing down in spectacular style, each actor stands exactly where they need to be to the millimetre, as the audience gasps in shock and surprise.
However, some of the humour feels a bit outdated, and there appears to be some stereotyping. The only two non-White characters stand out against the other upper-class White British characters: Perkins, the butler, who is presented as a person of colour; and Annie, Florence's stand-in, whose thick northern accent sounds nothing like Florence's. Or perhaps that is part of the satirical 'fun'?
If you need some lighthearted relief, this is worth a watch.
It runs until 30 August 2026. Tickets: here.
Review: Sunita Jaswal Photo: Matt Crockett