Little Lark of London

“Good God, I needed that!”

Are you a theatre fan in New York City? Do you love slapstick comedy? Want to laugh until it hurts? Then do I have the show for you! Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields (who also performed in the original production), Mischief’s The Play That Goes Wrong is currently playing at New World Stages off-Broadway. The show is a play within a play, with the Cornley University Drama Society putting on their opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor. While the actors might believe it is going to be their greatest show yet, we all know that things aren’t going to go exactly to plan. 

The Play That Goes Wrong takes inspiration from British classic comedies like Noises Off, Fawlty Towers (Bean is incredibly similar to John Cleese’s character, Basil Fawlty) and  Monty Python. Indeed, the show originated in England, with its first performances at the Old Red Lion Theatre, a pub theatre in London, in 2012. Even though things may appear to be going wrong for the audience, everything on stage is precise in its timing, with the actors engaging in lots of physical humour that could prove quite dangerous if it actually did go wrong. 

Matt Harrington stars as Chris Bean, the director of the Cornely Drama Society who is determined to make The Murder at Haversham Manor the best possible show it can be. He also plays Inspector Carter, the man attempting to solve the mystery behind the death of Charles Haversham. Harrington plays Bean as an exhausted yet enthusiastic director, doing his best with the less-than-ideal circumstances and slowly losing his mind as things continue to go wrong. A highlight of the show is a rant given directly to the audience, including jabs at Americans (he, along with others in the show, put on British accents). 

Chris Lanceley, who normally plays Chris Bean, takes on the role of Robert Grove, a dramatic actor who loves to show off his skills in the loudest voice possible. Lanceley is delightfully extravagant as both Grove and his in-show character, Thomas Colleymoore, seizing every opportunity to upstage the other actors, especially Bean (their competitive relationship throughout the show is a joy to watch). One particular moment of improvisation, a lengthy monologue about “minors” versus “miners,” had me in tears. 

Trevor Braun is the nervous wreck known as Dennis Tyde, who plays the butler, Perkins. The character struggles with remembering some lines and has words written on his hands, still managing to mispronounce ones like “ominous” and “morose” which are played with brilliant comedic timing. You can’t help but want to give Tyde a hug and a cup of tea after all the stressful events of the show! Though he doesn’t appear as much on stage as the other actors, Clyde Voce nearly steals the show as Jonathan Harris, who plays the deceased Charles Haversham (as indicated by Voce crossing his arms and tilting his head, representing a corpse in the coffin, probably my favourite moment of choreography in the show). Even though he is playing a dead man, Voce remains a strong presence on stage throughout the play, helping out “backstage” in a range of ways. 

Maggie Weston plays Sandra Wilkinson, who then plays Florence Colleymoore within The Murder at Haversham Manor. Weston does a fantastic job of portraying Wilkinson as a young actress who believes she is the best one on stage, continuing to wink at the audience even as things fall apart around her. Adam Petherbridge plays audience-obsessed Max Bennett, an enthusiastic actor who has no concept of the fourth wall (and if he does, that wall is broken the moment he steps on stage). Petherbridge plays Bennett and his character of Cecil Haversham as incredibly enthusiastic, jumping and dancing around the stage and clapping the performances of the other actors. 

Julian Robertson and Latrisha Talley, Trevor Watson and Annie Twilloil respectively, are the tech team behind the show, watching in disbelief as things continue to get worse. Robertson is a delight to watch from his tech booth above the audience, often commenting on what’s happening on stage (when he’s not on his phone or having a snack!). Talley as Twilloil is a nervous wreck who is doing her best to keep everything together, even joining the cast on stage after a disastrous incident. 

Nigel Hook’s set becomes a character itself, falling apart with perfect comedic timing and acting as a playground for the actors to perform on. All of the action takes place in two rooms of Haversham Manor and Hook uses only a few simple pieces of furniture like a chaise longue, a grandfather clock and a wooden globe on wheels to decorate the space. 

Ultimately, The Play That Goes Wrong is a delightful show that will appeal to all ages. With the perfect mix of physical comedy, witty lines and fantastic performers, I cannot recommend it enough! 

The Play That Goes Wrong runs at New World Stages. Tickets can be bought here.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel, 2021