The Play That Goes Wrong tickets

264 upcoming dates · from $38

The Play That Goes Wrong is a comedy about an amateur drama society staging a murder mystery that collapses around them. Listings here cover sit-down productions and touring dates in theatres of varying size.

Next: Sun, Sep 6, 20263 venues across 3 cities

About The Play That Goes Wrong

The premise is one joke sustained for two hours, and the achievement is that it holds. A fictional amateur dramatic society attempts a country-house murder mystery, and everything that can fail does: the set, the props, the lines, the actors' composure. The comedy is physical and precisely engineered, which is the part audiences underestimate. Every collapse is choreographed to the inch and rehearsed like a stunt.

That has a direct consequence for seating. This is a show where you watch a set as much as a cast, and much of the funniest material happens at the edges of the stage, at floor level, and in the background while something else holds your attention. Seats with a full, unobstructed view of the whole stage picture are worth more here than proximity. High side seats in a balcony that cut off a corner of the stage will cut off jokes.

It plays well to audiences who do not usually go to the theatre and to those who go constantly, for different reasons, and it does not require any knowledge of the murder mystery genre it is sending up. Language is mild and the humour is physical, so it travels well for audiences watching in a second language, and for families with older children.

Because the show tours widely and has been staged by many companies, the cast and the exact staging vary between productions. The set is a character in the show and larger houses accommodate more of it, but the material is built to work at different scales.

Runtime is around two hours and ten minutes with an interval. PickStub is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with Mischief, with the producers of this show, or with the theatres staging it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to like murder mysteries?

No. The show sends up the genre but does not require any familiarity with it, and the comedy is physical rather than referential.

How long is it?

Around two hours and ten minutes including an interval.

Which seats should I avoid?

Anything that cuts off part of the stage. Much of the comedy happens at the edges, at floor level, and in the background, so a restricted or extreme side view loses jokes rather than just detail.

Is it suitable for children?

The humour is physical and the language is mild, which makes it one of the easier comedies to bring older children to. Very young children will struggle with the length rather than the content.

Tue · 7:30 PM · Duchess Theatre, London

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