THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG – Canberra Theatre Centre
Playhouse.
Written by Henry Lewis – Jonathan Sayer – Henry Shields
Directed by Mark Bell – Associate Director: Anna Marshall –
Res.Director: Nick Purdie
Set Design: Nigel Hook – Costume Design: Roberto Surace
Lighting Design: Ric. Mountjoy – Resident Lighting: Jason
Bovaird
Music: Rob. Falconer – Sound Design: Andy Johnson – Fight
& Movement: Dave Hearn.
Performed by: Olivia Charalambous, Edmund Eramiha, Tom
Hayward, Stephanie Astrid John, Joe Kosky, Jonathan Martin, Brodie Masini, Sebastiano
Pitruzzello, Jack Buchanan, Anthony Craig and Kira Josephson.
Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse: October 28th –
November 2nd, 2025.
Performance on October 28th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
Since first seen in London in 2012, “The Play That Goes Wrong” has been convulsing theatre goers around the world ever since.
It last visited Canberra in 2017, and obviously the
impression left on that occasion was so positive that every one of the
scheduled Canberra performances for its 2025 season sold out before the
production opened.
The premise is a simple one. The struggling Cornley Polytechnic
Drama Society, having received a substantial bequest from a benefactor, has
decided to pool all its resources on a slap-up production of a 1920’s murder mystery,
“Murder at Haversham Manor”, a play which has just the right number of
roles to suit its current membership.
The stakes are high, so the director, who also has the
leading role in the production, is nervous. But everyone involved is determined
to do their level best to ensure the premiere performance is memorable.
And it is, but not
for the reasons hoped. Because as the play proceeds the unfortunate cast finds itself
coping with just about every on-stage theatrical mishap conceivable, brilliantly
portrayed by an excellent cast of multi-skilled Australian and New Zealand actors,
who, despite their best efforts, are ultimately upstaged by the set, which won
a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a play.
This production is a carbon copy of the original West End
production with every moment, and movement, timed to the second, and despite having
been touring nationally since June of this year, the current cast still appear to
be enjoying the mayhem and merriment as much as the audience.
For anyone seeking brilliantly staged classic slapstick
comedy, “The Play That Goes Wrong” is a production that should not be missed.
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
