In November, I went to see Peter Pan Goes Wrong in the New Theatre, Cardiff. It was the third Mischief Theatre production that I’d seen, and I knew I would love it!
I found out about Mischief Theatre from a special that was on the BBC a few years ago, which aired on New Year’s Day. I remember it well: I was at my friend Joely’s house and her dad was flicking through the channels, trying to find something to watch. We stumbled across Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and my sister, being a huge Peter Pan purist, had to watch it.
I’m so glad we put it on, because we spent the next hour crying with laughter. This, unknowingly at the time, would be the start of our love for Mischief Theatre.
After that, we went to see The Play That Goes Wrong, a tour of their West End production, and Mischief Movie Night, in which they ask the audience to give them a genre and some things to include and they improvise a whole show, songs included. When they announced that they’d be touring their production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, we jumped at the chance to book tickets.
We were so excited to see this show in the theatre rather than just the shortened televised version, and it was so much fun to see how they extended the story to include even more mayhem. Although it wasn’t the original cast that we’ve come to know and love, this cast was incredible and so crazily similar to the original cast that sometimes I even forgot that we were seeing different people.
The jokes, the mayhem, the exploding Tinker Bell costume, and the set crashing down and turning the show into a complete disaster—it had everything that is signature to a Mischief Theatre performance, and seeing the show live rather than on TV was well worth the wait.
Added Immersion (and Disaster)
One thing I especially love about Mischief shows is the immersion before the show even begins. When we saw The Play That Goes Wrong, stage crew were running around shouting about a lost dog.
Before this show, when we were sitting in our seats waiting for the show to start, the cast were wandering around the stalls, talking to people—always in character. The actor who played Peter Pan spoke loudly on the phone about fans waiting for him at stage door, and then leaned over our shoulders to sign our programme that we had open on our laps. (He also scribbled over another actor’s face, telling us we don’t want his face in our programme.)
Another actor, who played the narrator in the show, asked if a women sitting next to me with a notepad was a critic, and was trying to get her to promise she’d write a positive review. He then took our balloons and made her a balloon animal, which was something he continued to do (albeit badly) during the interval.
Then, finally, the crew and actors were running around talking about things that had gone wrong, like actors and musicians not turning up, the stage crew were trying to fix things onstage that had already broken, and a few members of the crew tried to pass a wire over the heads of the audience at the front of the stalls, asking them to stand up and hold the wire for them.
It was complete carnage, but that added element of immersion makes a Mischief Theatre show what it is, and makes you believe we really are seeing a terrible drama society who are trying to put on a professional production. It adds something completely unique and memorable to the show, and it’s one of the reasons why I love them so much.
Who are Mischief Theatre?
If you’re unaware of Mischief Theatre, they’re a theatre company that specialises in shows that go wrong. Set pieces collapse, lines are forgotten, costume mishaps are common, and shows get progressively more disastrous. They often portray themselves as Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, and the actors play members of the society who are then playing the parts in the shows they perform.
Their shows include The Play That Goes Wrong, Comedy About a Bank Robbery, Groan Ups (which recently in the West End), and their most recent Magic Goes Wrong (which I’m seeing in March and I can’t wait!). They also currently have a TV series airing weekly on BBC, called The Goes Wrong Show.
Find out more about their shows on their website, or follow them on Twitter for (often hilarious) updates!
If you get an opportunity to see a Mischief Theatre show live, please do. Every show has had me almost in tears from laughter, and being in the audience for one of their shows feels like such a unique, immersive experience. If you love silly comedy, their shows are a must-see.
There are still a few venues left on the tour, so click here to find out if Peter Pan Goes Wrong is coming to a venue near you.
