Sometimes, a night at the theatre is about being transported into another world. Other times, it’s about sheer, unadulterated laughter. The Play That Goes Wrong, now on in Melbourne, firmly lands in the latter camp. It delivers two hours of slapstick chaos, comic timing, and the kind of theatrical mayhem that leaves the audience in stitches.
Produced by The Mischief Theatre Company, The Play That Goes Wrong has become a global phenomenon since its debut in London in 2012. It has since held the title of longest-running comedy in the West End.
The premise is deceptively simple: an amateur drama society is putting on a 1920s murder mystery, The Murder at Haversham Manor. Chris Bean, as Inspector Carter / the play’s ‘Director,’ is determined to get his cast (and set) to behave and deliver a polished performance. But fate and physics have other plans.
The audience watches in hilarious horror as doors won’t open, set pieces collapse, actors forget their lines, and props fall apart. What ensues is meticulously planned chaos, leaving the audience in a state of suspended nervousness and laughter.
The show is perfect for lovers of slapstick humour a la Fawlty Towers, The Three Stooges, and Monty Python. Each misstep invites joy and celebration of the silly mistakes each and every one of us can make, and leaves us feeling happy to embrace every imperfection. This balancing act between chaos and control is where the genius of The Play That Goes Wrong lies.
Jonathan Martin as Chris Bean opens the show with a glimmer of hope for the evening and quickly unravels through the ensuing madness. This role was made for him as he shines in both his audience interaction and quick wit.
Alongside him, Joe Kosky as Robert Grove (who plays Thomas Colleymoore in the play-within-a-play) and Tom Hayward as Dennis Tyde (and Perkins) play outrageously over-the-top sidekicks with a sense of ease and hilarity.
Despite having relatively small stage time, given he was “dead,” Brodie Masini is irresistibly funny as Jonathan Harris (aka Charles Haversham). His comedic timing is remarkable.
Sebastiano Pitruzzello, who plays Max Bennet (and Cecil Haversham) is a star. His loveable physical comedy / interpretative dance evokes giggles across the stalls. His partner in crime, Stephanie Astrid John, as Sandra Wilkinson (aka Florence Colleymoore), is elegant and effortlessly funny. This dynamic duo was my personal favourite as they glided in slick sync across the stage.
Eds Eramiha, as Trevor the Lighting and Sound Operator, is an audience favourite. He has a knack for relating to the audience and makes them feel a part of the action.
Olivia Charalambous as Annie Twilloil, the Stage Manager, charms the audience from the get-go. I particularly enjoyed the choice to keep the original accents of these actors, continuing the realism and immersion of the meta-play.
The Athenaeum Theatre proves the perfect venue for this kind of meta-theatrical comedy. Its intimate size and antique furnishings ensure that the audience feels every creak of the collapsing set and every awkward silence. Yet they also feel invited to participate in the show.
The set, originally designed by Nigel Hook, is almost a character itself. At first glance, it looks like a standard period murder-mystery interior. But as the play unfolds, so does the set, as traps of comic surprises transform the stage into an unpredictable playground of calamity.
By the time the final curtain (or what’s left of it) falls, the audience is breathless with laughter. I am not sure I have ever attended a play where the audience literally guffaws throughout its duration.
It’s rare to see a comedy where every gag lands and every mishap feels both surprising and inevitable. This Melbourne staging of The Play That Goes Wrong proves that sometimes being transported to a world where everything is literally falling apart is the best way to escape your own troubles.
The Play That Goes Wrong is a show for those in need of a light-hearted evening and a good belly laugh. The joke works only because the cast never winks at the chaos – they live and breathe it.
The Play That Goes Wrong runs at the Athenaeum Theatre until 28 September 2025. 188 Collins Street Melbourne.
Full Australian tour dates are below.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://playgoeswrong.com/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/playgoeswrongaunz/
Photo credits: Jordan Munns
2025 Australian Tour Dates
Melbourne 3 – 28 September, Athenaeum Theatre
Port Macquarie 23 – 25 October, Glasshouse Theatre
Canberra 29 October – 2 November, Canberra Theatre Centre
Perth 7 – 16 November, Regal Theatre Subiaco
