Mischief Theatre are a British theatre company that specialise in physical comedy, they’ve had huge hits in the West End and across the world, such as The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy about a Bank Robbery, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and many more. I’ve had the pleasure of watching some of these productions and I have a blast every time. Physical comedy is my favourite genre of live theatre and the team at Mischief Theatre have perfected it. If you ever get a chance to see one of their productions, I couldn’t recommend it enough!
So, when I found out that the Mischief Theatre team were getting their own series on the BBC, following the same format of their most popular production The Play That Goes Wrong, I was extremely excited.
I found the series as whole to be a bit hit and miss, with mostly hits. If you’ve seen their productions before then you will have a good idea of some of the sequences and events that occur during each episode of the series, as they take a lot of inspiration from stunts that they have done in their live theatre productions, as would be expected. There is no doubt that they are all very clever and extremely well executed, it takes an enormous amount of talent to make things intentionally look bad and “go wrong”, and the team behind this nail it every time. However, I will acknowledge that there are some scenarios that I felt didn’t convert well from theatre on to the small screen. Certain aspects that had my crying with laughter in the theatre production didn’t translate as well on to television and came across a bit silly.
Luckily, this didn’t happen too often and I would say 80% of the series run was highly entertaining. This isn’t going to be for everybody, but if you take it for what it is and sit back, enjoy and admire the immense amount of talent that is on show, then you’ll have a good time for sure. The good part about this series is that there is a vast amount of variety as each episode takes on a different “play”, so even if one episode doesn’t hit home straight away, there’s likely going to be one that you enjoy more, so stick with it! In these dark, uncertain times, this is exactly the sort of light-hearted comedy you need.
Whether you enjoy it or not, again, I would highly recommend watching a live Mischief Theatre production if you get the opportunity. It’s some of the most fun I’ve had and they make me crack up every single time. For me, they’re the most talented comedy-based theatre group in the world, and I will be following them for as long as I can. They’ve had a second series commissioned, and I for one can’t wait!
You can watch The Goes Wrong Show on BBC iPlayer.
I give The Goes Wrong Show – Series 1 a 7.5/10.
Wado Reviews 