07/05/2025
"The Play That Goes Wrong is an absolute masterclass in comedic timing.."
"The comedy bar has just been raised. Go and see this show.."
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[NEW REVIEW]
The Play That Goes Wrong
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields
Produced by GMG Productions & Stoddart Entertainment Group
Associate director - Anna Marshall
Resident director - Nick Purdie
Until 11 May
James Hay Theatre at the Christchurch Town Hall
Reviewed by Courtenay Washington for Backstage Christchurch - Theatre Reviews
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Never before have I seen anything so ridiculous put on the stage before. I have also never laughed so hard in my life! If you're looking for Ibsen or Chekhov, then this show is not for you.
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, this play-within-a-play follows the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as they attempt to stage a 1920s murder mystery titled 'The Murder at Haversham Manor'. As the title suggests, everything that can go wrong does—and spectacularly so.
Time for full disclosure – I’m not much for slapstick and was prepared to be thoroughly underwhelmed. However, associate director Anna Marshall and resident director Nick Purdie have quite masterfully recreated one of the most technical and hilarious pieces of theatre I have seen for quite some time. As an audience member, I was both entertained and bewildered at how they managed to bring the magic to life within this show.
Every one of the ensemble cast delivered a stand-out performance, leaving every member of the audience hanging on every word.
Local theatre hero Jonathan Martin was brilliant in the lynchpin role of Chris, and a special mention must be made of Sebastiano Pitruzzello who was particularly impressive in the role of Max; his first professional production (which boggles the mind as to why this is the case).
The big question: What goes wrong? Everything! And when nothing more could go wrong, they still found ways to make things go completely pear-shaped and keep the audience on tenterhooks as to “what next?”.
Now, I'm not an ‘easy laugher’ and almost always find ways to be quite critical. But this was pure hilarity executed with such skill that I couldn't help but wonder if the actors were on or off script as everything just felt so seamless.
Usually, I like to pick out a few memorable moments to highlight, and I’m struggling to find just a couple, but I particularly enjoyed the Buster Keaton-esque falling set amongst the multitude of other nods given to classic theatrical and cinematic iconography.
I found myself sitting with a mile-wide grin from start to finish, and rather sore abdominal muscles by the end of the show. The Play That Goes Wrong is an absolute masterclass in comedic timing with each disastrous moment choreographed to the inch.
It really needs to be seen to be appreciated in its full glory. The comedy bar has just been raised. Go and see this show – you won’t be cool if you don’t. There, I said it.
