TEHRAN-Iranian director Saeed Taghvaei has on stage “The Play That Goes Wrong” written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company at Mehregan Theater in Tehran.

Written in 2012, it is a farcical murder mystery, a play within a play, about the Cornley Drama Society that are putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong... does! The accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences.

After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. They are delighted that neither casting issues nor technical hitches currently stand in their way. However, a hilarious disaster ensues and the cast starts to crack under the pressure.

Before the play starts the audience sees the backstage staff doing last-minute adjustments to the set, including trying to mend a broken mantelpiece and find a dog that has run off.

During the performance, a plethora of disasters befall the cast, including doors sticking, props falling from the walls, and floors collapsing. Cast members are seen misplacing props, forgetting lines, missing cues, breaking character, mispronouncing words, stepping on fingers, being hidden in a grandfather clock, being knocked unconscious, and being manhandled off stage.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” won the Best New Play at Broadway World UK Award and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2015.

It has been translated and produced in over 30 countries, including China, Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, and Russia among others.

Mischief Theater is a British theater company that was founded in 2008 by a group of students from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London, and directed by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. The group originally began by doing improvised comedy shows, but by 2012 they expanded into comedic theatrical performances that included choreographed routines, jokes, and stunts.

The company is primarily known for their comedic performances as the fictional theater company, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, enacting amateur performances that go wrong. In addition to “The Play That Goes Wrong,” other works by the company include the TV series “The Goes Wrong Show”. Several of the stage performances by the company have been shown in the West End of London, and also in theatres across the United Kingdom, North America, and Europe.

The cast of “The Play That Goes Wrong” includes Minoo Manouchehrinia, Farshad Farhadpour, Kasra Hedayatnia, Omid Azadkhani, Navid Dousti, Anita Shariati, Arash Sobhani, and Farhan Haghighian.

The play will remain on stage until January 27 at Mehregan Theater located at No. 3, Farhangi (Behnam) Alley, Vesal Shirazi St., Enqelab St.

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