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★★★★★
When it comes to comedy, there is no company quite like Mischief Theatre, known for the ‘Goes Wrong’ shows that have been in the West End, on Broadway and toured the UK. The shows that they create combine familiar stories, a memorable group of characters and entertaining slapstick, delighting audiences with their ill-fated shows-within-a-show. Over the festive period, a new production of ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ was at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End for 8 weeks, before heading out on a UK tour. Now in the final week of the tour, the show is at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and I was fortunate enough to watch the festive offering on opening night in Kent. In my opinion, Mischief’s shows keep going from strength to strength and ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ is a laugh-out-loud seasonal comedy.
About the show
The Cornley Amateur Drama Society are back together again for a new production, but this time they are taking on Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. The company is bickering from the start, beginning with auditions, rehearsals and creative team meetings. After some brief insights behind the scenes which lay the foundations of the comedy, it is time for curtain up and the audience is treated to an absolutely hilarious presentation of the Christmas classic. From Dennis’ inability to remember the lines to the set design going wrong, the chaos will make you never look at Dickens’ story the same way again. There are also lots of references to past Cornley shows and the characters’ previous experiences, which provides some much-appreciated continuity for longtime fans of the company’s work.
Narrative and structure
It was so entertaining getting to witness the backstage antics at the very start of the play, that I found myself a little disappointed to learn that it was so quickly time for the main event: the live performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’. That being said, as soon as the show-within-a-show started, I completely understood why so much of the narrative was allocated to this. The insights into the Drama Society’s creative process plant the seeds which allow the performance to naturally unravel later on and each interaction has been so carefully thought out, from the dialogue to the physical comedy and set placement. ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ is a masterclass in how to engage an audience early, but keep some of the show-stopping moments back for the very end. I was on the edge of my seat for the majority of the duration, belly laughing at the shenanigans on stage.
Cast performances
Performing a Christmas-themed show in late February was always going to be a challenge, but the cast brought so much energy that you found yourself quickly transported to the warmth of the festive season. It is very much an ensemble piece, with each character contributing to the Cornley chaos, but standout performances include Daniel Fraser as Chris the Director, Henry Lewis as Robert and Jonathan Sayer as Dennis. The on-stage feud between Chris and Robert is a highlight, creating some highly amusing moments when they battle over the role of Scrooge.
Hilarious festive fun
‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ is pure entertainment from start to finish. I honestly haven’t laughed that much in a theatre for a long time and that is down to Mischief’s ability to draw you into the disorder of the amateur drama society and their unbelievable theatre-making. Performances run until Sunday 1st March, with the last remaining tickets available via the theatre’s website. Mischief’s next project is a musical called ‘Thespians’ and it opens at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester in May ahead of a mini UK tour.
*My ticket for ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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