That play that goes wrong

Review: ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ Upends a Whodunit

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When your world — or, as it often seems these days, the world — is falling apart, there’s perverse comfort in watching things go smash in a safe, contained environment. (And no, the White House doesn’t qualify.) Such is the brutal allure of monster truck jams, videos of toddlers falling off trikes and steel-cage wrestling matches.

That is also the appeal of Mischief Theater’s “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which opened on Sunday at the Lyceum Theater and is as close to a demolition derby as we are likely to see on Broadway. This knockabout farce out of London, where it has been running for more than two years and won the Olivier Award for best comedy, is devoted entirely to destroying itself before your eyes.

So take a long look at the uncurtained stage when you arrive. You will see a tacky, cheerful simulacrum of a classically creepy English manor drawing room. (Nigel Hook did the self-immolating set.)

Now try to envision the ways that this set, which ominously includes an upstairs and an elevator, might be violently dismembered by a cast of really bad, really clumsy actors. Whatever visions of chaos your imagination summons, the odds are that this show’s artfully hapless team will exceed them.

By now, you should have read enough to know whether “The Play That Goes Wrong” is for you or not. If you feel that it is, be advised that it is perfectly O.K., and possibly preferable, to see it after a couple of drinks or in the glazed condition that comes from too many sleepless nights.

You need, in other words, to be in a state in which your unconscious mind lets loose the suppressed, rambunctious, juvenile giggler within. When I first saw this production in London two years ago, I was glassy-eyed with jet lag and, as far as I can remember, had a swell time.

Revisiting it at the Lyceum, after a restful weekend, my responses were more tempered. That’s partly because I think the cast is pushing harder to win over us subtlety-challenged Americans. In any case, my reactions ranged between thinking this play was exhaustingly funny to finding it just plain exhausting.

The setup: An amateur troupe, the Cornley University Drama Society, has miraculously managed to land a big-city theater for its thriller “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” a country-house whodunit in the cobwebbed tradition of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”

Before the production begins, cast and crew members are discovered roaming the aisles with distraught purposefulness. They are also in full view onstage, making last-minute adjustments to falling fireplace mantels and sticking doors (in vain).

The show is preceded by an anxious introduction from its director and leading man, Chris Bean (Henry Shields). Mr. Shields as Mr. Bean vacillates amusingly between arrogance and self-abasement as he describes earlier productions by the company that had to be retitled because of limited budgets: “Two Sisters,” “The Lion and the Wardrobe” and “Cat.”

The fictional Mr. Bean, the director (and designer and press agent and box office manager) of “Murder,” is not be confused with the director of “Play,” Mark Bell, who is presumably real. Mr. Shields, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer are listed as the writers of “Play,” though not for “Murder,” which is supposedly by Susie H. K. Brideswell. (The program has separate sets of credits for the shows’ real and unreal participants.)

“Play” is a willfully crude descendant of Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off,” the greatest of all backstage farces. Unlike Mr. Frayn’s comedy, which spends an act setting up the personalities and conflicts within a theater company, this one focuses exclusively on onstage mayhem, the kind that leaves its cast bloody, bowed and ultimately out cold or having a nervous breakdown.

The cruel laws of physics that rule here are much like those of silent slapstick movies. Floor planks, furniture, doors, windows and knickknacks are all agents of revolt against the foolish humans who would bend them to their will.

We begin with a corpse named Charles (Greg Tannahill), which of course will simply not lie still, and are subsequently introduced to a lineup of glamorous suspects in slightly shabby aristo drag. (Roberto Surace did the costumes.) There’s the dead man’s vampy fiancée (Charlie Russell) and his old retainer (Mr. Sayer); his duplicitous brother (Dave Hearn) and Charles’s tweedy best friend (Mr. Lewis).

Also on hand are Trevor (Rob Falconer), the light and sound man, and Annie (Nancy Zamit), the stage manager. Cast and crew alike must act badly well, a task achieved with particular cringing charm by Mr. Hearn, who flashes his upper teeth as if they were a badge of fatuity.

Even though the play within “Play” is meant to be terrible, I wish we could make out more of its creaky dialogue, and be allowed at least a few moments in which things seem to be running smoothly. Everything is pitched so aggressively, you wind up feeling as battered as the ensemble.

I propose putting your rational mind into sleep mode, the better to savor tickling images of order-inverting bizarreness, straight out of Dada, in which suddenly nothing is in its customary place or being used for its customary purpose. There’s a wild, redeeming poetry in such anarchy.

My audience, for the record, roared as loudly as the crowds at any wrestling match. The still young Mischief Theater has evidently found a winning formula, as it has since created other London successes in the same vein (“Peter Pan Goes Wrong,” “The Comedy About a Bank Robbery”).

And a very sophisticated 10-year-old of my acquaintance pronounced the production the best he’d ever been to. Would I could have seen it through his eyes.

You all know the classic whodunnit story, there has been a murder at a country manor and an inspector is set on the case to find who the culprit is. However, when this plot is given to the accident-prone thespians, The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, everything that can go wrong… does!

The actors and crew battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences!
Do you ever find out who murdered Charles Haversham? You’ll have to see for yourself!

Now blundering through its eighth catastrophic year at London’s Duchess Theatre, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter!

The Duchess Theatre operates with mitigation methods to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. For further information check our COVID-19 secure information page. If you or anyone in your party tests positive for COVID-19 we recommend you stay at home; we operate a 100% exchange guarantee up to 48 hours before your performance. Please contact boxoffice@nimaxtheatres.com and they will assist.

Booking Until
Sunday 2 April 2023

Tickets Start From
£22
Prices include booking fees of up to £2.50, applicable to online & telephone bookings and a £1.25 restoration levy.

Show Times
Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm
Saturday, 2.30pm
Sunday, 3pm & 7pm

Running Time
2hrs including 1 interval

Theatre
Duchess Theatre

Age recommendation
8+

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‘An unexpected gut-busting hit’

‘I feared I was going to hyperventilate’

‘A joyous show builds to a delirious climax’

‘Exquisitely choreographed mayhem’

‘A triumph of split second timing’

‘A great-looking, brilliantly performed piece’

‘It’s as though The Mousetrap has been taken over by Monty Python’

‘A masterpiece of malfunction’

‘A complete tonic’

THE EVENING STANDARD

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Very very funny’

‘I was reduced to tears of joy’

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

‘A technical triumph’

Tomisin Ajani is a Nigerian-British actor from London who trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
His credits include Netflix’s THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN, a prequel to the main series, as well as MASTERS OF THE AIR, an upcoming war drama produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg for Apple TV.

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG will be his professional stage debut.

JAOUHAR BEN AYED

Training: EAST 15 Acting School

Theatre: THE KITE RUNNER (UK TOUR), MOORMAID (The Arcola Theatre) PIRATES OF SALE (National Theatre R&D) JUICE STRAWS ARE BLEAK (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)

Television: NO MAN’S LAND (HULU/STARZPLAY/HBO), MARRIAGE (BBC One)
Roles whilst training: THE SECRET HISTORY (Corbett Theatre),WINTER’S TALE (STYX sight specific) SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE (Corbett Theatre)

Other credits: DOCTOR WHO (Big Finish, BBC Radio) Miriam and Youssef (BBC Radio) FINAL FANTASY XIV: ENDWALKER (Square Enix)

Jo is thrilled to be joining the new cast of “The Play That Goes Wrong”. He would like to thank his Mother and Father for supporting him to get to where he is today.

Ashh trained at The Guildford School of Acting (BA Acting) and The BRIT School in Musical Theatre.

Credits include: Evillene in THE WIZ (Hope Mill Theatre); HORRIBLE HISTORIES – TERRIBLE THAMES (Birmingham Stage Company) Ira in WITCHES STEEPED IN GOLD by Ciannon Smart (RNIB & Bonnier Books), The BRIT Awards (ITV); Friday Night is Music Night (BBC Radio 2). TURN UP LONDON (Cadogan Hall), Cindy in LUNA GALE (Grad Fringe Festival), Abigail in PIANO/FORTE (Tales Retold), CATFISH: THE MUSICAL (Willy Mukendi & Joseph Purdue)

Commercial Campaigns include; Gumtree, TSB, The National Lottery, Three and Highways England.

Ashh is also an award winning Spoken Word artist and has been writing poetry since 2018. Her 3 part spoken word series Four Walls will be out on all music platforms later in the year.

Scott recently made their West End debut with Mischief Theatre, playing the role of Mel in Magic Goes Wrong.

Scott also starred as Stu in the European Premiere of Yank! The Musical at both the Hope Mill Theatre, and the Charing Cross Theatre. For their performance they won Best Newcomer at the Manchester Theatre Awards.

Other credits include; Blaine Tuttle in the European Premiere of Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical; Graham in Murder At the Gates (The Palace Theatre) and Frank in Maxa (Wilton’s Music Hall).

Oliver trained at Rose Bruford and was a Spotlight Prize Nominee in 2010.

His theatre credits include Milked at the Soho Theatre, Almost Near at the Finborough Theatre. He has worked for the BBC on EastEnders and on Doctors.
Oliver performed in last year’s summer season at Theatre By The Lake, Keswick. He appeared in Rails, Single Spies, Sense and Sensibility, and Crooked Dances at the RSC.

He recently completed filming one of the leading roles in the feature film Rubicon in Canada.

Stage Credits include:
Helenus in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (Royal Shakespeare Company), Patrick in HELL YES I’M TOUGH ENOUGH (Park Theatre), Sam in FINISH THIS (English National Opera), Shankar in TAJ EXPRESS (Sadlers Wells, Peacock Theatre London & US Tour), Lt. Indra Lal Roy in FOUNDATION:1918 (Front Of House Theatre Company), Adil in FOUR PLAY (Eventful, Muscat Oman), Deepak in 9 JAKHOO HILL (Playpen Theatre Group), Kamaal in FLYPAPER TRAP (Rage Theatre in association with the The Royal Court UK), Orpheus in LEGEND OF LOVERS (Theatre Group)

Whilst training:
Demetrius in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Drama Centre London), Joe Bonaparte in GOLDEN BOY (Drama Centre, London), Marlow in SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER (Drama Centre, London), Lopakhin in THE CHERRY ORCHARD (The Boris Schukin/Vakhtangov Institute, Moscow) and Itys/Soldier/Chorus in THE LOVE OF THE NIGHTINGALE (Drama Centre, London)

Film Credits include:
Boy in MANGO SOUFFLE (Lotus Pictures) and Helenus in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (RSC).

Television Credits include:
Mickon in HOUSE OF DRAGON (HBO), Nimish in GOOD KARMA HOSPITAL (Tiger Aspect/ITV) and Amit Chatterji in A SUITABLE BOY (BBC)

TENDAI HUMPHREY SITIMA

Tendai trained at RADA.

Theatre Credits Include: MALINDADZIMU (Hampstead Theatre), IMMERSIVE GREAT GATSBY (Guild of Misrule & Hartshorn Hook), THE TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER (Gobbledigook), NEVERLAND (Guild of Misrule), TITUS ANDRONICUS (Time Zone Theatre) OUT OF THE FRAME and FRAME NARRATIVE (Project Oeuvre) and NOT WHAT I AM (Dogs of War Theatre.)

TV Credits Include: DOGHOUSE (MADE Television Network & Mr. Left Productions)

Tendai is also an exceptional singer, multi-instrumentalist and experienced composer.

ANYA DE VILLIERS

Anya is a recent graduate of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

She recently appeared in an actor musician production of ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ (Trinity Theatre).

Roles while training include Boudica in ‘Boudica’, Lady Macbeth in ‘Macbeth’ and Cora Hoover Hooper in ‘Anyone Can Whistle’.

Roisin is excited to be making her west end debut in The Play That Goes Wrong.

Since graduating from ARLA South drama school in 2018, Roisin has worked on several theatre, TV and radio productions, including a one-woman play performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Credits include; Titania (Midsummer Night’s Dream), Louise (The Man Will Kill Us All) and Roxy (Roxy Likes Cats).

Training – East 15 Acting School

Since graduating Charlie has worked in both stage and screen. His recent credits include Four Score Years And Ten (Theatre Royal Winchester) and Say Your Prayers (Feature Film).

He is delighted to be making his West End debut with Mischief Theatre in The Play That Goes Wrong.

Stuart graduated from Arts Ed London School of Acting.

Theatre credits include; THE KITE RUNNER (TOUR) ROMEO AND JULIET (Orange Tree Theatre); A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM; MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN; MACBETH (Butterfly Theatre Company); PLAY ON! SHAKEPEARE (Butterfly Theatre/London Symphony Orchestra); DANCE CLASS (Vienna English Theatre) and UNDERCOVER (Stack 10 Theatre).

Film credits includes;WHEN THE SCREAMING STARTS; THE COMPENDIUM OF SHITTY MEN; GOOD LUCK (CineCore Motion Pictures); DANCING WITH THE DEVIL; BODY SHOP (Palikuku Films); WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN (Stack 10) and HERO (Silver Koi).

Training: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Theatre credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Guildford Shakespeare Company), The Gruffalo (Tall Stories, UK Tour), The Wind in the Willows (Calf2Cow, UK Tour), Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing (The Three Inch Fools, UK Tour). Whilst training Emily performed as Florinda in The Rover and as part of the Chorus in The Burial at Thebes.

Over lockdown Emily took to Zoom to appear in (very serious) improvisational murder mysteries with The Whodunnit, performing the roles of May de Vale, Candice le Clare and Dorabella Flicksworth to audiences around the world. TV credits include: A Confession (ITV)

This is Emily’s West End debut.

Jack graduated from The Guildford School of Acting in 2017 with First Class honours. After graduation, he joined the West End company of Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About A Bank Robbery playing the leading role of Sam Monaghan.

Upon leaving Bank Robbery in 2019, he joined the first ever UK Tour of Laura Wade’s Posh playing Harry Villiers.

The start of 2020 saw Jack briefly return to The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, this time playing Mitch Ruscitti.

Jack is thrilled to be back in the West End, reunited with Mischief Theatre and performing in this historic theatre – and, as always, he would like to thank his Mum, Dad and sister for all their love and support.

Other theatre includes: The Stephen Sondheim Student Performer Of The Year (2017 Finalist – Noel Coward Theatre); No Bird (rehearsed reading – Arcola Theatre); Unbelievable (Workshop).

Film includes: Gold (2018).

Creative

PERFORMANCES

Booking Until Sunday 2 April 2023

Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm
Saturday, 2.30pm
Sunday, 3pm & 7pm

Running time: 2hrs including 1 interval

Age recommendation: 8+
Please note children under 15 years of age must be accompanied by and sat next to their accompanying adult (who must be over 18 years of age). Children may not sit on their own within the auditorium.

Please note the show contains the use of Pyrotechnics, Gun Shots, Loud Sound Effects, Smoke and Haze.

TICKETS

Tickets start from £22
Prices include booking fees of up to £2.50, applicable to online & telephone bookings and a £1.25 restoration levy.

CRISIS VIP PACKAGE
£69.50 – Includes a Premium Seat, signed programme, script and drink at the theatre bar
Ticket price includes a donation to CRISIS (London Skylight Centre)
Valid for all performances. Offer capped at 2 tickets per performance.

GROUPS

Summer Rate
Sunday – Friday
10 + Best available reduced to £35
Valid on performances 22 July – 30 August. Book by 1 August

Groups Rate
Sunday – Friday
10+ Best available reduced to £34.50
25+ Best available reduced to £30

School Groups 10+
Best available seats reduced to £21, plus 1 free teacher ticket for every 10 students booked.
Valid Tuesday – Friday performances.

All groups rates are subject to availability, and exclusions may apply.
Contact our helpful Groups team for more details.
Email: groups@nimaxtheatres.com
Call: 0330 333 4817
Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm

VISITING THE VENUE

Box Office Opening Hours – 12pm – 8pm (on performance days)

The Duchess Theatre opens 45 minutes before the start of each performance.

The Duchess Theatre is located on Catherine Street, near to Covent Garden in London’s West End. Below you can find information on how to get to the theatre and a map showing the location of the venue.

If you’re driving into the West End to see a show, take advantage of Q-Park’s Theatreland Parking Scheme. Save 50% off parking with Q-Park (after 12pm and for up to 4 hours). To qualify, simply present your Q-Park car park ticket for validation at our box office and the car park machine will automatically charge you half price. For details of locations and prices please visit Q-Park’s website.

Children under 15 years of age must be accompanied by an adult over 18 years of age.

Please be aware that for your comfort and security all audience members will be subject to security checks upon arrival at the Duchess Theatre. There are also incidental bits of action in the foyer and auditorium from around 15 minutes before the show begins. For both of these reasons we recommend patrons arrive at the venue in good time. The auditorium will open 30 minutes prior to performance start time.

Address
Duchess Theatre, 3-5 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5LA

Parking
Q-Park – Chinatown or Trafalgar

Tube
Covent Garden (Piccadilly line)

Bus Routes
For buses to Aldwych use: RV1, 6, 11, 13, 23, 59, 68, 87, 171, 172, 188, X68

Комедия The Play That Goes Wrong в Лондоне

Спектакли про спектакли – это двойное удовольствие. Артисты играют роль артистов, участвующих в шоу – и вы получаете две истории по цене одной. В случае с «Пьесой, где все идет не так» (The Play That Goes Wrong), удовольствие даже тройное, а от смеха живот болит потом неделю. Анастасия Глаголева, театральный обозреватель «Вокруг Лондона за 40 шагов» — про комедию The Play that Goes Wrong в Лондоне.

О чем речь: спектакль Play That Goes Wrong

Награды:

Премия «Оливье» за лучшее комедийное шоу 2015
Премия BroadwayWorld UK Winner за лучшую новую пьесу 2015
Премия WhatsOnStage Awards за лучшую новую комедию 2014

Где идет: Duchess Theatre, 3 – 5 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5LA. Ближайшие станции метро — Covent Garden, Charing Cross, Holborn, Temple.

Когда: на данный момент билеты на постановку в Лондоне продают до сентября 2017 года, также с января 2017 стартует тур по Британии.

О чем спектакль:

В провинциальном английском городке Корнли группа артистов-любителей с гордым названием «Политехническое Общество Драмы» ставит детективную пьесу «Убийство в Хавершем Мэнор», чем-то напоминающую знаменитую «Мышеловку». Вот вам труп, вот расследующий убийство инспектор (он же режиссер), а вот и подозреваемые: родственник покойного, странный дворецкий, экзальтированная дамочка…

Вы погружаетесь в атмосферу происходящего с головой еще до начала спектакля: по залу бегают стейдж-менеджеры, техники и артисты в поисках собачки, диска с саундтреком, потерянного реквизита, а также пытаясь починить разваливающиеся на глазах декорации. Меня даже позвали на сцену подержать полочку над камином и подавать коробку с инструментами. Коробку, кстати, приклеивал к полу огромный магнит, и только русская смекалка помогла мне непринужденно ее отодвинуть и подать артистам.

Так что можно смело называть Play That Goes Wrong иммерсивным спектаклем, предполагающим взаимодействие со зрителями. Если вы опасаетесь подобного, не берите места в левом краю партера, оттуда обычно вытаскивают добровольца на сцену. А если не опасаетесь, то, наоборот, берите – когда вы еще «сыграете в спектакле» в столице Великобритании? В любом случае рекомендую приходить минут за 20-30 до начала, чтобы не пропустить ничего забавного!

Начинается спектакль, и все идет не так. Слова забыты, реквизит для следующей сцены отсутствует, артисты выясняют отношения прямо на сцене, а декорации потихоньку разваливаются. Рецензии отмечают Play That Goes Wrong за «лучшую работу декораций на Вест Энде», и вполне заслуженно. Происходящее на сцене выверено с точностью до миллиметра и секундомера, но смотрится при этом совершенно естественно!

В общем, зрителей ждут два часа здорового смеха с перерывом на антракт и английский юмор во всех его вариациях. Очень рекомендую!

Сколько стоит: от 20 до 65 (+2 фунта, если бронируешь на сайте. В кассе театра – без наценки)
На сайте создателей спектакля Mischief Comedy есть возможность выбора места по схеме зала
Билеты на сайте компании Nimax, тут выбрать место уже не получится.

Как сэкономить:
1. Купить билеты в края партера по 22 фунта.
2. Спросить в кассе театра про скидку на сегодняшний день, если зал не сильно распродан, они могут предложить билеты дешевле.

Кстати, у Play That Goes Wrong есть сразу 2 спектакля в воскресенье, что для большинства лондонских шоу редкость.

The Play That Goes Wrong

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About The Play That Goes Wrong

Do not miss the multi award-winning international smash hit THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG now the longest running comedy in the West End.

The Cornley Drama Society are putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does! As the accident prone thesps battle on against all the odds to reach their final curtain call, hilarious results ensue!

Hailed “a gut-busting hit” by the New York Times, Mischief’s THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is stumbling through its eighth chaotic year at London’s Duchess Theatre, and has unexpectedly received a host of celebrity endorsements from the likes of Joanna Lumley “We laughed until the tears ran down our faces, it has to be seen” to Ant & Dec “The funniest show we’ve seen! If you can get a ticket, go!”

Don’t miss this brilliantly funny comedy, guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter.

Tell Me More

Experience the hilarity of Mischief Theatre plays at The Play That Goes Wrong. Book The Play That Goes Wrong tickets in London on TodayTix.

What the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society may lack in apparent skill and finesse, they more than make up for it in enthusiasm. Their past performances of iconic theatre shows include The Lion and The Wardrobe, James and the Peach and the beloved musical, Cat. Their latest production is a murder mystery, Murder at Haversham Manor.

It’s set to be the society’s shining moment; The Mousetrap, eat your heart out. If only they could make it through a show without the set burning down that is. The hapless cast struggle to remember where they’re meant to be, props are misplaced or broken and lines are frequently forgotten. Basically, everything that could go wrong, does.

Delightfully disastrous, The Play That Goes Wrong is a hilarious Olivier Award-winning comedy that has had London audiences in stitches at the Duchess Theatre since 2014. Produced by Mischief Theatre, this hysterical show will have you wondering how a show where everything is so wrong could be so right!

Book The Play That Goes Wrong tickets in London on TodayTix.

The Play That Goes Wrong proves right for West End

Hit show that began in a room above a pub has had its run at the Duchess Theatre extended until at least September 2015

The Play That Goes Wrong. Photograph: Alastair Muir

The Play That Goes Wrong. Photograph: Alastair Muir

Less than two years ago Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields were working minimum wage jobs in a Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a call centre and behind a bar, after which they would perform twice nightly in their own one-act play in a room above a pub.

It was exhausting but enjoyable. Now their dedication is reaping dividends. Four weeks ago the show opened in the West End. Now producers of The Play That Goes Wrong have announced it is proving so popular that its run at the Duchess Theatre has been extended until at least September 2015.

“We’re absolutely delighted, it’s hugely thrilling,” said Lewis, 25, of a play that is becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon.

Audiences and critics have lapped it up. “I have seldom, if ever, heard louder or more sustained laughter in a theatre,” wrote the Sunday Telegraph’s critic Tim Walker while Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail admitted: “At one point I feared I was going to hyperventilate.”

Meanwhile the list of celebrities coming backstage to pat them on the back is growing by the week – it includes Joanna Lumley, Tom Hardy, Dara Ó Briain, Angus Deayton, Joe Pasquale, Mel Giedroyc,Sue Perkins, and last week JJ Abrams, the film director behind the reboots of Star Trek and now Star Wars.

“I was washing my hair in the sink when he came in so I still had flour all over me,” said Sayer, 26, of his introduction to the powerful Hollywood figure.

The show was written by Lewis, Sayer and Shields, all ensemble members of Mischief Theatre, an improv theatre company set up in 2008 by a group of graduates from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda).

Sayer, Mischief’s company director, said: “We wanted to dabble in writing and wanted to make it that working together wasn’t just this really fun month in Edinburgh, or doing a Tuesday night slot thing.”

Inspired by Michael Green’s 1964 book The Art of Coarse Acting, as well as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean, the result is a play awash with lost props, fluffed lines, bungled entrances and falling scenery.

It began life over the Christmas of 2012 at the Old Red Lion theatre pub in north London when it was called The Murder Before Christmas. Following that was a spell at the Trafalgar Studios, which helped it win best new comedy award at the whatsonstage.com awards, and a national tour.

It has evolved into a bigger and longer show, but they hope it still has an intimacy. “When it was at the Old Red Lion the main fun was that you could see the whites of the actors eyes,” said Sayer. “Because of that it felt really dangerous and spontaneous. We’ve been really keen to make sure it still has that fun, live, exciting energy.”

The show is, they hope, following a similar trajectory to the spoof theatrical version of The 39 Steps, which transferred from Kilburn’s Tricycle theatre to the Criterion in the West End in 2006 and has stayed there.

“Any comedy always relies on word of mouth,” said Shields, also 26. “If it’s funny people will tell others. If it’s not they won’t. That’s the challenge, you can never relax, you can never take your foot off the pedal, you’ve always got to make sure it’s slick every night.”

Lewis, Mischief’s artistic director, added: “This week’s audiences are the publicity for next week’s audiences.”

Sayer said the thing they had on their side was “we all genuinely love doing the show. We’ve all sacrificed a great deal to do the show – particularly in the beginning when we were all working minimum wage jobs at the same time as doing two shows in the evening.”

Another reason for its success are the comparatively low ticket prices. A sold-out £20 for 20 performances offer comes to an end next week and stalls seats then go up to around the £40 mark.

“We’re all quite young and we want the show to stay affordable and accessible to everybody including people our age,” said Lewis. “There is a lot theatre in the West End which is really expensive and if you want to go you’ve got to sit at the back of the upper circle.”

It has also taken a comic approach to marketing with adverts urging people to “save their money and don’t come”.

The show’s producer, Kenny Wax, said: “We even ran a strapline on a number of ads reminding people that the production starred ‘no one famous’ – and still they came.”

So far, everything seems to be going well with strikingly diverse audiences. Lewis said: “It is really nice to look out and you might see a school group on the front of the circle and then downstairs you might see young professionals, students here, older people there, families dotted in between.”

The show has spawned a spin-off, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, which begins a tour in November and the plan is that the same cast will continue until June.

“It is such an ensemble piece, driven by the whole cast,” said Shields. “But it will be fun to see a whole group of new people doing the play – fingers crossed we make it as far as June.”