The Play That Goes Wrong becomes 4th longest-running West End play |

Mischief Theatre’s smash-hit production The Play That Goes Wrong, has entered the Society of London Theatre’s list of longest-running shows for the first time at the 20th position.

Olivier and Tony Award-winning show The Play That Goes Wrong has achieved a historic milestone and entered the Society of London Theatre’s list of longest-running shows for the first time at the 20th position. This makes it the 4th longest-running play in West End history, surpassed only by The Mousetrap, The Woman in Black and No Sex Please, We’re British.

The show, which opened at the Duchess Theatre in September 2014, has been running continuously in the West End for 12 years.

Its producer Kenny Wax said: “When we first opened The Play That Goes Wrong in the West End in 2014, none of us could have imagined the extraordinary journey that lay ahead. To see Mischief grow from a group of brilliantly talented young performers into a global theatrical phenomenon, breaking records, winning awards and entertaining millions of people around the world, has been an incredible privilege.”

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A chaotic global success

Stage moment: a man in a blue striped blazer lunges forward as fellow actors react with shock in a decorated set. — *The Play That Goes Wrong.* Photo by Matt Crockett

While its journey began modestly, premiering in December 2012 to just four paying customers at the Old Red Lion (a theatre above a pub in London), The Play That Goes Wrong has now become one of the most enduring theatrical successes in modern West End history.

The show has been seen by more than five million people worldwide and performed in over 52 countries. It welcomed its two millionth customer at the Duchess Theatre earlier this year alone, with audiences continuing to flock to the West End’s Duchess Theatre to witness the controlled chaos of the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s disastrous production.

The Play That Goes Wrong remains a masterclass in theatrical comedy – a production that proves that laughter, impeccable timing and the charm of watching things go brilliantly, hilariously wrong never gets old.

What is The Play That Goes Wrong about?

The Play That Goes Wrong 2023 cast — *The Play That Goes Wrong* 2023 cast. Photo: Robert Day

The Play That Goes Wrong is inspired by classic whodunnit stories. It starts with a murder at a country manor and an inspector on the case to uncover the culprit.

But when this story falls into the hands of the accident-prone thespians of The Cornley Drama Society, everything that can go wrong… does. As the actors and crew battle against all odds to make it to their final curtain call, the production descends into mayhem, with hilarious consequences.

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