THE old adage that if ‘anything that can go wrong will go wrong’ is dramatically brought to life in Bath Theatre Royal’s latest offering that never fails to amuse.
The international smash hit, The Play That Goes Wrong, capitalises on the premise of Murphy’s Law in a performance that supremely captures both clever word play and slapstick comedy.
The West End and Broadway hit comedy opened its fifth national tour in Bath for a run of seven performances to Sunday (April 24) before visiting theatres nationwide.
Mischief’s Olivier Award-winning box office hit continues to entertain audiences on a global scale and the cast certainly received an ecstatic reception on the opening night of a UK tour on Wednesday.
The play features the (fictional) Cornley Drama Society who are putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does!
As the accident-prone amateur thespians battle against all the odds to reach their final curtain call, hilarious results ensue. I particularly loved the scene where they try to hold the set together.
The 2022 cast features new and returning performers with Kazeem Tosin Amore as Robert, Colin Burnicle as Chris, Damien James as Dennis, Beth Lilly as Annie, Edi De Melo as Max, Aisha Numah as Sandra, Gabriel Paul as Trevor and Steven Rostance as Jonathan, and understudies Harry Boyd, Mary McGurk, Clare Noy and Will Taylor.
Together, they chase an imaginery dog Winston around the auditorium, ham it up to milk every joke and slapstick action in the script, and watch the set literally fall apart.
Now celebrating 10 years since its first performance at The Old Red Lion fringe venue, with only four paying customers, The Play That Goes Wrong shows no signs of slowing down. Since then, it has played to an audience of over two million in over 35 countries and on every continent, except for Antarctica.
The Play That Goes Wrong is co-written by Mischief company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. The new UK tour is directed by Sean Turner, originally directed by Mark Bell, with set designs by Nigel Hook, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Ric Mountjoy, sound design by Andy Johnson and resident director Amy Marchant.
To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk. If you miss this week’s performances, the play is available in a five-part series on BBC iPlayer.
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