About the Play:

The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong is a one-act comedy by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. After benefiting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. Hilarious disaster ensues and the cast start to crack under the pressure. Can they get the production back on track before the final curtain falls? This one-act version of the Broadway and West End hit comedy The Play That Goes Wrong is perfect to be enjoyed on the page as well as in college and high school productions.

The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong follows the antics of the thespians of The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, who are trying their very best to stage a production of a 1920s murder mystery. You all know the classic murder mystery story. There has been an untimely death at a country manor, everyone is a suspect, and an inspector is set on the case to find who the culprit is. However, as the show's title might suggest, this is not as easy as it sounds when everything that can go wrong…does! Despite the setbacks, the actors and crew struggle bravely against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences! Written by Mischief Theatre Company's Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, this is the original one-act play which started everything going wrong. Over the course of an hour, expect a plethora of disasters from missed lines to falling props. Do you ever find out who murdered Charles Haversham? You'll have to see for yourself.

This one-act version of The Play That Goes Wrong originally premiered in 2012 under the title The Murder Before Christmas at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, London. Since then, the expanded two-act version has taken the world by storm and has been performed in over 35 countries across 5 continents, including on Broadway in 2017 at the Lyceum Theatre becoming the longest running play on Broadway at the time with over 750 performances.

Cast: 2 female, 6 male

What people say:

"A gut busting hit." — New York Times

"It's as though The Mousetrap has been taken over by Monty Python." — WhatsOnStage (UK)

"A masterpiece of malfunction." — Times of London (UK)

About the Playwright:

Henry Shields is an award-winning writer and actor. He trained at LAMDA and has been a member of Mischief Theatre since 2009.

Jonathan Sayer is an Olivier award-winning writer, actor and is the Company Director of Mischief Theatre.

Henry Lewis is an award-winning writer and actor. He trained at LAMDA and has been a member of Mischief Theatre since 2009.