With a roster of West End hits to his name, producer Kenny Wax knows what makes Theatreland tick. As hit comedy The Play That Goes Wrong celebrates a decade in the West End, he tells Matthew Hemley about the reality of staging and touring shows, from balancing the books to building longevity and changing with the times
In the first preview of The Play That Goes Wrong under producer Kenny Wax, a piece of set fell on one of the show’s writers and stars just at the very end of the performance. For a show all about mishaps and misfires when putting on a play, it couldn’t – perhaps – have been more apt. But for Wax, it was also one of those heart-in-the-mouth moments that all producers must experience from time to time.
“I thought: ‘Oh my God, it was going so well and we’ve just killed the author and lead actor,’ ” Wax recalls, with a mixture of a grimace and a laugh in his swanky London offices, whose walls are lined with posters of the hit shows he’s produced over the years. “In the end, he had a bump and he came on for the curtain call, and it was all fine.’
“Over the years there have been mishaps and scrapes and bumps and bruises. It’s a very technical play, but we take health and safety seriously and we have a robust policy,” he adds. While seeing the funny side of the situation, it’s clear Wax feels the need to point this out in case any lawyers are reading. As any shrewd producer would, of course.
Next month, The Play That Goes Wrong marks its 10th anniversary at the Duchess Theatre in the West End….
Duchess Theatre, London
