If you enjoy farce, The Play That Goes Wrong is for you. Theatre Calgary, in partnership with The Citadel and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre have produced a comedic murder mystery within a play, and for this abysmal theatre company, everything that could possibly go wrong, does. If you’re able to buy into it, if you’re able to keep the stamina for the same joke over and over again, then you’ll love this production.
The play, written by Henry Lewis , Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer tells of the opening night of Cornley Drama Society’s production of The Murder of Haversham Manor, where the director Krista, (Daniela Vlaskalic) in her opening night remarks, hopes that this play won’t also be a disaster like all the other productions the company has put on. Spoiler alert: It is. The premise of the mystery is that Jonathan (Alexander Ariate) is murdered and his fiancee Sandra (Vanessa Leticia Jette) is the prime suspect as she is having an affair with his brother Max (Andrew MacDonald-Smith). Sandra’s brother Robert (Joel Schaefer) is also a suspect, and Dennis the butler (John Ullyatt) is in for the wild ride. We can’t forget Annie (Honey Pham) who steps in when Sandra gets knocked out, and Trevor (Ray Strachan) who is running tech badly and also steps in for Annie when SHE is knocked out. Stage Crew member Emily Meadows and Bernardo Pacheco also are on stage to interact with the set, which falls apart, section by section.
The Play That Goes Wrong is a series of jokes that the cast in its entirety, are relentless in telling. The drinks are so bad that the cast has to spit them out. If someone stands behind a door, they get knocked out. The part that is really clever is how everyone on stage is playing two roles at once. It’s remarkable to watch, for a half hour. This production definitely runs much too long and stretches and snaps every joke.
Schaefer is quite funny, especially in his physical comedy. I could barely recognize MacDonald-Smith in his role as Max, he depicted both characters so well. Jette is also a standout role, really throwing herself into the physical comedy of her character, while Pham’s role is difficult as the rookie actor who doesn’t want to let go.
Director Dennis Garnhum keeps everything running pretty tightly. Watching the artists on stage is like watching a marathon, but it runs way too long. Not enough credit can be given to Beyata Hackborn, whose set design falls apart in exactly the right way. Joseph Abetria’s costume design allows the right things to rip at exactly the right time. Maybe you need a laugh that’s predictable and reliable. Look no further, Theatre Calgary has what you’re looking for.
Theatre Calgary in partnership with The Citadel and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s presentation of The Play That Goes Wrong runs until September 29th. More information is available online.
Photo: Honey Pham, John Ullyatt in The Play That Goes Wrong. (Photo: Nanc Price)