The Play That Goes Wrong is a title that might be thought to be inviting trouble. Just after opening at the Bath Theatre Royal, a member of the company tested positive for Covid-19, and the cast had to go into self-isolation. The play had ‘gone wrong’. But all was not lost, for the entire London cast has been hastily drafted in, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘West End transfer’. An extraordinary effort must have been put in by Mischief Theatre and by the Theatre Royal to achieve this in such a short time. It was well worth it, for The Play That Goes Wrong brings a very welcome dose of harmless gaiety in this gloomy time of lockdowns and cancelled celebrations.
Many years ago, I saw a production of The Long And The Short And The Tall, a play set in Malaya during World War II. During a scene where the young soldiers are being drilled, the actor playing a tough sergeant forgot the words that ended the sequence, and inadvertently repeated a line from the very beginning of it. His fellow actors dutifully picked up on that cue, and the whole scene started over again until, in desperation, one of the actors announced ‘Right, we’re off!’ and everyone made a hasty exit. It was excruciatingly funny, not least because everyone involved was so determined to pretend that nothing was amiss. The Play That Goes Wrong is essentially an extended riff on this idea that actors will always desperately try to keep the show going, even when matters have gone seriously awry.
The set-up of The Play That Goes Wrong is that Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is putting on a play entitled Murder At Haversham Manor. The production is beset by problems even before the show starts, and once it is under way, there is utter chaos. A door refuses to shut, and then stubbornly refuses to open; props are mislaid, or fall apart; the scenery becomes dangerously unstable. It’s Agatha Christie colliding with Buster Keaton, and the results are very funny indeed. The physical comedy is brilliantly done, and Nigel Hook’s elaborate and deceptively sturdy-looking set delivers many sudden surprises. At times the silliness attains surreal heights; there is a wonderfully absurd scene involving an actor helplessly trapped inside a grandfather clock. I’m finding myself laughing as I recall it.
Although the emphasis is very much upon physical fun, there are some narrative threads that stop this show from becoming nothing but knockabout silliness. Of these, the best involves a nervous stagehand forced to take over the role of the female lead, and discovering that she has a taste for acting, and indeed, over-acting. I would have liked a little more of that kind of thing, but one does not come to a play like this in search of profound insights into human nature. This is a play that celebrates daftness, and which does so very successfully indeed. However, you might be tempted to see it as a metaphor for the kind of grim determination that is getting us all through the current crisis. Towards the end I was becoming just a little tired of the mayhem, but perhaps that’s because it’s hot work laughing non-stop for nearly two hours while wearing a face mask.
How marvellous to be seeing live theatre again. Well done, Mischief Theatre, and well done, Bath Theatre Royal. What a tonic! ★★★★☆ Mike Whitton 20th December 2020
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