The Play That Goes Wrong, at Athenaeum Theatre and touring - 2 hours, including interval ★★★★½

If you are into slapstick humour, you are going to have a ball.

This riotous theatrical disaster is stumbling its way around Australia and has just opened in Melbourne.

Photos by Jordan Munns

The premise is straight forward enough, but its execution something else entirely.

The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is attempting to stage a 1920s Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, titled The Murder at Haversham Manor. But virtually everything that can go wrong does.

Nevertheless, these accident-prone thespians are troopers and battle on against the odds to get their final curtain call.

The play was written by Mischief Theatre founders Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields and first performed in London in 2012.

It won an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and the Molière Award in France for Best Comedy. 

An extended extract from the production featured in the Royal Variety Performance in the UK.

Sight gags are the cornerstones of this play to end all plays.

But there are also the one-liners, including those from the faux director of The Murder at Haversham Manor in introducing the show. And, again, when he returns, engaging the audience ahead of Act II.

The contention is as follows: a man is discovered dead on the day of his engagement.

His fiancé is having an affair with his brother.

So, immediately, they and everyone else in the stately home are suspects.

As a whodunnit, the outcome is virtually of no consequence.

It is merely a loose excuse for all to act up, forget their lines and play silly buggers.

The Play That Goes Wrong is outrageous, laugh aloud funny and delightfully silly, as the actors keep on upping the ante.

And, before this is over, the world around them comes crashing down.

Clearly, the performers are out to have fun, as are those of us watching the mayhem unfold.

Mock fights, pummellings and colliding with hard objects are all part of the repertoire.

I thought I was watching the cast from Fawlty Towers meeting up with The Three Stooges.

Tickling the funny bone doesn’t take any time, as the mood is established even before the piece officially starts (please try to get there 15 minutes early).

That is when the supposed sound technician and other stagehands are searching high and low for a lost dog.

It is also when an unsuspecting audience member is asked to lend a hand in readying the set.

Then, it is all deliberately downhill from there. Simply hilarious!

The eight strong cast – Eds Eramiha, Olivia Charalambous, Jonathan Martin, Brodie Masini, Joe Kosky, Tom Hayward, Stephanie Astrid John and Sebastian Pitruzzello – is magnificent, bumbling its way through the material.

The brisk pace, frenzied activity and harried actors never let up, so be prepared for a cacophony of laughter and hijinks aplenty.

The Play That Goes Wrong is playing at Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne until 28^th September, 2025 and touring.

To find out more and to buy tickets, go to https://playgoeswrong.com