The Play That Goes Wrong

The Play That Goes Wrong at Spencer Theatre At Kansas City Repertory Theatre

A fictional 1920s English murder mystery demands poise, precision and perfectly timed reveals. The amateur troupe attempting The Murder at Haversham Manor at the Spencer Theatre possesses none of those qualities—and that collision between theatrical aspiration and spectacular incompetence is exactly what makes The Play That Goes Wrong so satisfying.

Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, this physical comedy watches the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society stumble through increasingly disastrous performance problems. Sets refuse to cooperate. Furniture betrays its handlers. Lines vanish from memory at critical moments. Most troubling of all, the murder victim keeps moving when he's supposed to stay dramatically dead. Each mishap compounds the chaos, yet the determined performers soldier on, convinced they can somehow salvage their production.

The pleasure isn't simply watching things fall apart—it's observing these earnest amateurs refuse to surrender. They adapt, improvise and double down on dignity even as the show unravels around them. Stuart Carden directs Kansas City Repertory Theatre's production of this scripted catastrophe, where every door that sticks and every forgotten cue becomes another test of the company's resolve. The murder mystery they're attempting may be doomed, but their commitment never wavers.

Secure your tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong at the Spencer Theatre in Kansas City.