The Play That Goes Wrong

This is not a formal show review, due to only attending a dress rehearsal so far. However, the quality of the dress rehearsal was high enough and polished enough to go ahead and recommend this show. Dress rehearsals and preview performances are never critiqued; however, if they are of high quality, there is no reason to wait to tell you to get your tickets.

The Play That Goes Wrong is part of a series of “Goes Wrong” productions developed by the British theatre company Mischief Theatre. The fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society features fictional actors that star in all of the shows, so there is always a show within the show that features a cast within the cast. The detail and complexity of the humor (humour?) are just as entertaining as the shows themselves. For example, the Playbill for the New York production of The Play That Goes Wrong is actually two programs, first covering the play within the play and its cast list with the fictional actors and then the actual show program listing the real life actors playing those fictional actors.

This local production, a joint production of Seattle Rep and Portland Center Stage, gets in on the fun with a Know Before You Go e-mail that messes up your show date by many months and “lost dog” flyers throughout the Seattle Rep venue. Poor Winston. In New York, I was one of the patrons who was approached by crew members asking if I had seen a dog running around. No spoilers, so you will just have to go see the show.

I first learned about this series many years ago when I discovered the TV show, A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. I typically watch this show at least once per holiday season. I have no idea how many times I have watched it. You can usually find it on BroadwayHD or Amazon Prime, depending on current licensing arrangements. This play has (so far) not had a stage debut.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong, which actually debuted on TV before A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, is similarly hilarious, and it actually had a Broadway debut in 2023 after previously only having been on stage in the UK. I had the joy of meeting two of the three creators and playwrights, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Slayer, when they just happened to be walking down the sidewalk in Times Square at the same time I was. I recognized them, yelled out their names, and they seemed happy to be recognized in New York. They were both so kind and fun to chat with.

Another one of their popular television productions is The Goes Wrong Show series, which is the most similar to this play. What I especially enjoyed was how the fictional actors were so similar with their unique personality quirks from show to show. In newer productions without the original cast, like the current Off-Broadway production and this current Seattle production, you can find these consistent quirks in some of the cast members but not all. Some of the actors have worked to mimic the behaviors of the original cast members, while other actors have decided to make the characters their own. For long-term fans like me, I really appreciate it when I immediately know who the fictional actor character is even when the physical appearance is very different. For patrons not familiar with the show, it of course will not matter. Just know that if you now go watch the TV shows or the other stage productions, you will see this consistency in the fictional actors from show to show, which I find to be very fun.

This is an important show to get to your seat early, both before Act 1 and again during intermission. And then pay attention. Everything that appears chaotic, before the house lights are even turned down, is of course scripted and part of the show.

British humour is not for everyone, and I observed some patrons laughing from the start, some patrons taking longer to warm up, and some patrons who were not into it. You can watch one of the TV shows mentioned previously to find out if this your cup of tea. I find the writing in this series of shows to be brilliant, and you probably need to see the show multiple times in order to catch all that is going on. And as scripted as it is, no show - like any live performance - is exactly the same every night.

Compared to the Off-Broadway production, I found this cast to be just as good as the cast I experienced in New York. The set is better in the Off-Broadway production, but this locally created set does the important parts very well. This is a very complex and difficult set! The lighting, sound, and costumes are all very similar to the Off-Broadway production.

See more show reviews from 2025.