The Play That Goes Wrong

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

A corpse keeps sitting up at the worst possible moments, and nobody seems to remember their lines long enough to accuse the killer. That's opening night for the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, whose earnest attempt to stage a 1920s whodunit called The Murder at Haversham Manor unravels spectacularly at the Spencer Theatre. The Play That Goes Wrong tracks these amateur performers as they navigate collapsing scenery, disappearing props and dialogue that evaporates mid-accusation.

Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, this physical comedy places supposedly dignified mystery tropes against performers who simply cannot maintain control. The contrast fuels the chaos: every stiff-upper-lip confrontation gets interrupted by a door that won't close or a mantelpiece that refuses to stay on the wall. As the fictional murder plot tries to soldier forward, the real entertainment becomes watching the Cornley players scramble to salvage anything resembling a coherent detective story.

What separates The Play That Goes Wrong from standard slapstick is the determination underneath the disasters. These aren't professionals having a bad night—they're amateurs who desperately want their show to succeed, which makes every fumbled cue and furniture mishap both funnier and oddly affecting. Stuart Carden directs Kansas City Repertory Theatre's production, where backstage calamity becomes center stage entertainment.

Secure your seats while the set is still standing.