Review - The Play That Goes Wrong at Milton Keynes Theatre

It's very rare to watch a show where you expect mistakes.
The cast of The Play That Goes WrongThe cast of The Play That Goes Wrong
The cast of The Play That Goes Wrong

But in this instance, they are very much part of the story. The Play That Goes Wrong sees the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to stage The Murder at Haversham Manor but when something that goes wrong, one disaster leads to another.

It is very easy in this situation for the actors to overplay the comedy but it is to the eternal credit of all the performers that they never over doing it. Except for the moments when it was called for. The skill lies in that not only do you have to know how to do it, but then to do it deliberately worse.

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And they carry it off with impeccable timing. From before you take to your seats and a missing Duran Duran CD right to the finale, the audience were in stitches. And it is very easy to be swayed along by the farcical nature of the show with rapid jokes.

The Play That Goes WrongThe Play That Goes Wrong
The Play That Goes Wrong

Normally when you see another tour of a show with a different cast, you invariably make comparisons with the previous production and in the case of a very successful show like this, they don't always work favourably. However in this instance the cast reach the high bar from their predecessors and at points even surpass it with the refinements made since the last tour.

I can't speak highly enough of this show, this is a laugh a minute and who knew that murder could be so funny. Tickets are in short supply but it is worth snapping up the very few that are left.

The Play That Goes Wrong is staged at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday March 18. For tickets call the box office on 0844 871 7652 or visit www.atgtickets.co.uk/miltonkeynes for more details.