The Play that Goes Wrong

It must be a sign of my age, but I find myself seeking out ‘sure things’, ‘guarantees’, safety and avoiding risk – not only in my purchases, holidays, choices of pizza toppings, but also in choosing what to spend my spare time on.  One thing I know without a shadow of doubt, is that any production by The Mischief Theatre is going to be hilarious, witty, silly and brilliant and will be the best 2 hours spent of many a week.

This tour of their West End & Broadway smash, The Play That Goes Wrong (a show I first saw 4 years ago and have plagued friends & family about it ever since) is their take on the eponymous Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s murder mystery.  Made possible by a generous legacy from Claude Bennett (which is possibly why his nephew features in the show in a number of roles), this play explores the whodunnits of old, set in stately Haversham Manor with plot and counterplot to rival any Agatha Christie tale.  Sadly (for the Polytechnic Director, Designer, Costumer Designer, Press, Box Office Manager, Dramaturgy, Voice Coach (and many more roles he has claimed for himself) Chris Bean that’s where the similarities end and instead the whole production descends into a comedy of errors beset with pratfalls, slapstick and the ultimate destroying of the set that would not be out of place in a Buster Keaton movie.

The real nub of this show is that it is a play within a play; if you hadn’t already guessed, Cornley Poly are the fictitious company wonderfully directed by Mark Bell performing the brilliance of writers Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields.  The real show starts well before curtain up (so make sure you’re in your seats at least 20 mins early) as some of the stage hands and tech team begin to set up for the opening scene.  From here on you know this isn’t going to be like any other show you’re likely to see, nor are you likely to laugh as hard and as loudly as you will whilst watching it.

I’ll attempt to summarise (so please do try to keep up) ….. Chris Bean, played by Jake Curran, plays Inspector Carter who is drafted in when Steven Rostance as Johnathan Harris playing Charles Haversham (he of the manor) is found dead on his engagement night.  Suspects for this foul deed include his brother Cecil, played by the afore mentioned Claude Bennett’s nephew Max who is actually the brilliant Bobby Hirston, Robert Grove (who is really Kazeem Tosin Amore) playing Thomas Colleymore, and his sister, Charles’ fiancé Florence, played by Elena Valentine playing Sandra Wilksinson.  

Okay, now breathe as there’s still more to add – the family butler, Perkins who is Dennis Tyde (but really Benjamin McMahon) tries to keep the peace between the warring factions, but constantly finds his attempts thwarted by both the props and the overly ambitious staging, not to mention the unfortunate accidents that befall most of the cast in one way or another – Elena, as Sandra, as Florence, ends up unconscious and so is replaced by stage manager Annie (Catherine Dryden) who suddenly finds that her original shyness in front of the audience has been replaced by a real calling to take centre stage.  Likewise, Duran Duran fan and sound and lighting guru Trevor Watson (the hilarious Gabriel Paul) is drafted in to try and surreptitiously fix some of the calamity, only to find he too falls prey to the acting bug (and the curse of the set).

The story moves along at a real pace with never a moment missed by the cast, or cast, to inject some additional action or incident.  Make no mistake, this is probably the hardest technical show I’ve ever seen; to make so many mistakes and accidents look authentic and yet remain on cue and perfectly timed is sheer brilliance – people used to say of Les Dawson that he could only play the piano so badly because he could actually play it brilliantly and this show is exactly that.  The set designer Nigel Hook has taken every classic joke, prop fail and pratfall and melded them into a non stop riot – sure you see some of them coming but that actually makes them even funnier because the cast apparently can’t.

All too often we are served up tv comedy which consists of people trying very hard to look very clever and witty yet so much of it is Emperor’s new clothes – people laugh because they think it’s meant to be funny and therefore they need to be a part of the ‘gang’ who get the joke – forget all that false and pretentious humour and go see The Play That Goes Wrong – it is honest, genuine, and unashamedly daft yet done so brilliantly that not only will you laugh out loud, you’ll not give a damn who hears you because everyone else will be doing the same.

The Play That Goes Wrong is on at Darlington Hippodrome until March 10^th but fear not if you can’t get now, it will be back in the North East again:

Newcastle Theatre Royal 2^nd – 7^th July

Billingham Forum 17^th – 22^nd September. 

Treat your funny muscles to a real work out and you’ll ache, and smile, for days afterwards.

The Pitmen Painters @ Darlington Civic

A extraordinary tale of ordinary folk

The Pitmen Painters is a wonderful story, written by Lee Hall, based on true events and charting the life & times of a group of coal miners (and a dental mechanic) from Northumberland who decide to broaden their skills and embrace art &  painting.  Initially hoping to be taught how to understand the messages hidden in classic paintings, this bunch of pitmen found that the professor they had engaged through the WEA had a different idea – no lectures and slide shows, instead they would be the  ones doing the painting.  Through this, they learned to appreciate the emotional attachment between artist and canvas and how the true meaning of any painting lies within the person observing it.

The play builds on the real spirit of the North East; set in the 1920s to just after the 2^nd World War, the language, culture and sheer reason-for-being all lie in the pit village microcosm which was so very prevalent until the  closure of the mines in the mid 1980’s.  Everyone knew everyone and acted just like one huge family; strengths were exploited, weaknesses mocked and those who dared to break the mould were reminded in no uncertain terms of their place – but it was all done with love & affection as only a family can.  The play obviously has to pick and choose which elements to include to progress the story and which to leave out to avoid clichéd stoicism but by centring the action in the miners army hut there is good reason for it to just be the 5 lads and their painting.

Being a miner in the early 20^th century was the most dangerous occupation in the country – men often had to witness their colleagues, friends and family killed and maimed in horrific accidents yet inspite, or maybe because, of this their humour shone through.  The script captures this perfectly and the laughs are delivered through the realistic actions and reactions, not from scripted jokes.  In particular the scene where Susan Parks (played by Catherine Dryden) a young lady, is due to pose as a real life nude model for the guys is hilarious.  Each character is so well formed and instantly recognisable that you feel you know them personally but more importantly the core values & drivers relevant to the [ost war years all hold up to scrutiny; thankfully it doesn’t try to subject modern day morals on the audience and there is still a sense of pride, of decency and of ‘being proper’ regardless of the accents and slang used.

Hall can be sentimental, as anyone who has seen Billy Elliot knows. But here, sentiment is kept in check by political reality, raw as the Northumbrian wind. In the play's final moments, after the pit is nationalised, the cast sing "Gresford", the miner's hymn and look forward to a bright new tomorrow of socialism – of course, we know how the future really panned out.

If you haven’t seen this play yet (where have you been ??) then take a trip down to Darlington Civic Theatre, enjoy the very warm welcome & hospitality of the staff there and sit back and be thoroughly entertained by the Pitmen Painters.