The Play That Goes Wrong Tickets at the Duchess Theatre
Twelve years at the Duchess, two million people through the door, and an Olivier Award for a play in which almost nothing works.
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020 7193 9050 · Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm
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Who Is The Play That Goes Wrong Best For?
- Anyone who wants to laugh out loud for two hours. There is no plot to follow, no score to know and nothing you need to have seen first, just plenty of silliness.
- People who do not go to the theatre much. It's easy to follow and a night of fun.
- Families with children of 8 and up. Nothing in it is unsuitable for children, and the humour is physical and slapstick rather than verbal, so it plays to the whole table.
- Anyone who has ever been in an amateur production, or been dragged to one.
- Not for you if you want a farce with something at stake, or anything more serious. This one is a machine for laughs and does not pretend otherwise.
About The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre
The Cornley Drama Society are staging a 1920s murder mystery called The Murder at Haversham Manor. Charles Haversham is dead in the drawing room, an inspector is on the case, and the society's eight members are going to see it through to the curtain call whatever happens.
What happens is that the door sticks, the props go missing, the set comes apart, the corpse cannot lie still, and the actors keep going anyway. That determination is the joke. Nobody on stage will admit anything is wrong, and the harder they work to hold it together, the worse it gets.
It is written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, who founded Mischief with a group of LAMDA graduates in 2008, and it started life above a pub. The Old Red Lion in Islington seats sixty. It opened there over Christmas 2012 under a different title, moved to Trafalgar Studios, went on tour, and arrived at the Duchess on 14 September 2014. It has been here ever since, which makes it the longest-running play the Duchess has housed since the theatre opened in 1929. Mischief have become one of the powerhouses of British theatre over the last 15 years, and a really inspiring success story.
Nigel Hook's faltering set is the thing to watch. It won a Tony Award, and the reason is that it has to fall apart the same way eight times a week. The Times called it "a masterpiece of elegant malfunction. You have to build something incredibly well to ensure it can collapse quite so dependably."
What's The Play That Goes Wrong About?
The plot, in one line: a country house, a body, and a drama society well beyond its means. It's a thin plot, and things go wrong. The clue is in the title.
The Murder at Haversham Manor is a 1920s whodunnit. A body in the drawing room on the eve of an engagement party, an inspector on the case, and four suspects with something to hide.
That is the story the Cornley Drama Society are trying to tell. What the audience actually watches is the eight of them failing to tell it, while the doors jam, the props go astray, the corpse fidgets and the scenery gives way around them.
That is the whole storyline, and giving it away spoils nothing. They do catch the murderer.
Performance Schedule
2 hours 5 minutes, including one interval.
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | - | - |
| Tuesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Wednesday | - | 7:30pm |
| Thursday | - | 7:30pm |
| Friday | - | 7:30pm |
| Saturday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Sunday | 3pm | 7pm |
There is no Monday performance. Sunday is the unusual one: an afternoon and an evening, with the evening at 7pm rather than 7:30pm.
Currently booking into January 2028.
Best Seats for The Play That Goes Wrong
The Duchess is one of the smallest theatres in the West End, at 505 seats over two levels, so there is no bad distance from the stage. What matters here is where you are, not how far back.
- Middle of the Stalls, rows E to K. The best seats in the theatre: far enough back for the whole set, close enough to watch individual actors inside the chaos.
- The front rows are fine. That is worth saying because it is not always the case. There is no spectacle to lose and nothing to sit underneath, so the front of the Stalls is close to the slapstick rather than too close to it.
- Ask for the second price band rather than the top one. Same level, same set, a seat or two further across, and a real saving. It's a small theatre so you can easily get away with this.
- The Dress Circle is usually slightly cheaper and it is absolutely fine up there, particularly for anyone who wants to see the full width of the set at once.
Full detail by row, band and level is in the Tickets and Best Seats tab. Anyone with access requirements should speak to the Duchess Theatre's own access team, who handle all of that for the venue.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will talk you through what is actually available on your date.
Cast and Creative Team
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Chris | Matthew Spencer |
| Jonathan | Luke Wilson |
| Robert | Raphael Bushay |
| Sandra | Lucinda Turner |
| Max | Joshua Lendon |
| Dennis | Alex Bird |
| Trevor | Kieron Michael |
| Annie | Ruby Ablett |
This is the thirteenth company to play the West End production. Directed by Mark Bell, with set design by Nigel Hook, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Ric Mountjoy and sound by Andy Johnson. Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. Produced by Kenny Wax and Stage Presence.
Full cast, understudies and creative team are in the Cast and Creatives tab.
Book Your Tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong
At the Duchess since 2014, two million people through the door, and still eight times a week.
All-in pricing: the price you see is what you pay. From around £20 up to around £80, premium from around £85 up to around £90.
Book tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Dates & tickets
FAQs
The runtime is 2 hours 5 minutes, including one interval. That duration has been the same since it moved to the Duchess.
It runs 2 hours 5 minutes, so: the 7:30pm evenings come down about 9:35pm; the Saturday 2:30pm matinee about 4:35pm; the Sunday 3pm matinee about 5:05pm; and the Sunday 7pm evening about 9:05pm. Lots of different times, so make sure you check your tickets for the start time.
Different thing, same company, same sort of idea. The Goes Wrong Show ran on BBC One from 2019, and it is best thought of as a set of short plays written for television, each one a different disaster. This came first: it opened above a pub in 2012 and has been at the Duchess since 2014. The writers, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, are the same, and several of the performers you saw on television have played this stage production too. You do not need to have seen the series, and if you enjoyed it you will recognise exactly what this is.
The minimum age is 8, and that is guidance from the production. Nothing in it is unsuitable for children, though it contains pyrotechnics, gunshots, loud noises and flashing lights, and a murder is referred to throughout as part of the play being performed. But it is silly fun, and a great laugh for everyone.
No. This was the first one and it stands entirely on its own.
From around £20 up to around £80, with premium seats from around £85 up to around £90. Around £75 will usually get you a very good seat mid-week, and prices step up at weekends.
Yes, one. The show is in two acts.
No. The Play That Goes Wrong is playing in two places: the Duchess Theatre in London and New York. The UK tour Mischief are running at the moment is a different show, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. It has toured, and other Mischief shows are regularly on tour, so keep an eye out.
No. There is no film or streaming version of the stage show, and it has never been broadcast. The BBC series is separate, written for television as mentioned above.
Catherine Street sits in the middle of Covent Garden, so the restaurants near the theatre run to the hundreds. The Delaunay on Aldwych is about four minutes away and runs a pre-theatre menu built around curtain-up times.
Yes. It is at the Duchess Theatre, Catherine Street, London WC2B 5LA, and currently booking into January 2028.
Four and five-star reviews from the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Financial Times and The Stage when it opened, an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy the following year, and one notable dissenter in The Times. There is more on all of it in what the critics said. It's been reviewed a lot over the years and in different countries, all generally positive. See the News and Reviews tab for more.
Eight, plus understudies.
Better than most plays. Much of the comedy is physical and slapstick, so it is funny whatever language you speak!
The middle of the Stalls, rows E to K. The front rows are also fine at this show, which is not true of every production.
The guidance is 8 and over, and the theatre applies it. Younger children may find the loud noises and gunshots startling.
Where to Sit at the Duchess for The Play That Goes Wrong
Two levels, 505 seats, and a set that is designed to be seen whole. The set is a character in this show, so the priority is a clear, square view of it rather than proximity.
The Stalls
The Stalls are the main event here and they sit below street level, down a flight of stairs from the foyer.
- Rows E to K, middle block: the best seats in the theatre. Far enough back to take in the whole set, close enough to catch what individual actors are doing while the chaos runs around them.
- Rows A to D are genuinely good at this show. There is no orchestra pit to sit behind and no scale to lose, and the physical comedy plays better close up. At most productions we would steer you back a few rows; here we would not.
- There are no aisles in rows A to K. A cross-aisle runs behind row C, and a centre aisle appears from row L to row O. If getting in and out easily matters to you, ask for row L or a row-end.
- Best value in the theatre: the second band, roughly a third of the way along a row. The view barely changes. The price does.
The Dress Circle
- Usually the slightly cheaper of the two levels, and it works well for this show because you see the whole set at once, including the parts of it that are about to fail.
- No aisles up here either, so pick a row-end if that matters.
- The rear Boxes and the slips are the cheapest seats in the building. They are side-on and they are priced accordingly.
Price bands
All-in pricing: the price you see is what you pay. Tickets run from around £20 up to around £80, with premium seats from around £85 up to around £90. Weekday performances are the cheaper end, and a very good seat mid-week is usually around £75.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will tell you what is genuinely available on your date rather than what a seating plan suggests.
Signed, captioned and audio-described performances are on sale. First up is a captioned matinee on 18 October, then a BSL-interpreted evening on 13 November, with more through 2027. Access requirements are handled by the Duchess Theatre's own access team, who know the building and can arrange the right seat.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Booking now
Getting to the Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is on Catherine Street, WC2B 5LA, just off the Strand and Aldwych junction, in the middle of the Covent Garden theatre district.
Tube. Covent Garden (Piccadilly line) is closest at about six minutes on foot, but the exit is lift-only and it gets very busy before curtain-up. Charing Cross (Northern and Bakerloo, plus National Rail) is about eight minutes and usually the easier walk. Holborn (Central and Piccadilly) is also about eight minutes, and Temple (District and Circle) about nine.
Rail. Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station, eight to fifteen minutes on foot. Waterloo is about twenty minutes across Waterloo Bridge.
Buses. Two clusters of stops, both three to four minutes from the door. On the Strand: routes 6, 11, 13, 15, 23, 87, 91, 139 and 176. On Aldwych: routes 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 168, 171, 172, 188, 243 and 341.
Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the performance, no later. The Duchess is a small theatre with a narrow entrance and the Stalls are below street level, so the last few minutes before curtain-up are the slowest.
The Auditorium
505 seats over two levels: the Stalls, which sit below street level, and the Dress Circle above. It is one of the smallest theatres in the West End, which is why nowhere in it feels far from the stage.
Grade II listed, opened in 1929, designed by Ewen Barr, and operated by Nimax.
Everything about the building, including step-free access, bars, cloakroom and the full seating detail, is in our Duchess Theatre guide.
Address
3-5 Catherine Street, London WC2B 5LA
Nearest Tube
Covent Garden (6 min) or Charing Cross (8 min)
The Play That Goes Wrong Cast
The thirteenth West End company, in the roles of the Cornley Drama Society members who are staging The Murder at Haversham Manor.
| Role | Performer | Plays, in the play |
|---|---|---|
| Chris | Matthew Spencer | Inspector Carter, and directs |
| Jonathan | Luke Wilson | Charles Haversham, the body |
| Robert | Raphael Bushay | Thomas Colleymoore |
| Sandra | Lucinda Turner | Florence Colleymoore |
| Max | Joshua Lendon | Cecil Haversham and Arthur the Gardener |
| Dennis | Alex Bird | Perkins, the butler |
| Trevor | Kieron Michael | lighting and sound |
| Annie | Ruby Ablett | stage manager |
Understudies: Harry Al-Adwani, Will Bishop, Phoenix Edwards, Tom Quinn and Paige Round.
Companies change roughly once a year. As with any production, no performer can be guaranteed at any particular performance.
Creative Team
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. Directed by Mark Bell. Set design by Nigel Hook, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Ric Mountjoy, sound by Andy Johnson. Produced by Kenny Wax and Stage Presence. Many of these starred in the original production of the show.
Nigel Hook won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for this set, and a Drama Desk Award alongside it.
What the Critics Said About The Play That Goes Wrong
It opened at the Duchess in September 2014 and won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy the following April, having already taken Best New Comedy at the WhatsOnStage Awards.
The reviews were positive. The Daily Mail's Quentin Letts gave it five stars and admitted "at one point I feared I was going to hyperventilate". The Telegraph's Tim Walker gave it four and called it delightful, opening with the admission that only once before had he been "reduced to a helpless, wobbly jelly in a theatre". The Financial Times and The Stage also gave four.
One critic was not convinced, and his objection is a useful one. The Times' Dominic Maxwell found it "all punchline and no set-up" and wanted the jeopardy of Noises Off, where the cast are desperately trying to stop the show falling apart. Here, he wrote, "nothing is at stake". Two other critics made the same comparison independently. If that is what you want from a farce, this is not the show; if you want two hours of engineered disaster, it is.
The audience verdict is warmer than the critics'. Across hundreds of verified reviews from people who booked and went, it averages about four and a half out of five.
The full picture, including the reviews that disagreed and what has changed since 2014, is in what the critics said.
The Play That Goes Wrong
Duchess Theatre