The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong

Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781350238862
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Good evening, I'm Inspector Carter. Take my case. This must be Charles Haversham! I'm sorry, this must've given you all a damn shock… The original version of the global hit play created by Mischief. After benefiting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. Hilarious disaster ensues and the cast start to crack under the pressure. Can they get the production back on track before the final curtain falls? This one-act version of Mischief's world famous The Play That Goes Wrong originally premiered at the Old Red Lion
Theatre in London in 2012. Since then, the expanded two-act version has taken the world by storm and has been performed in over 35 countries across 5 continents, winning multiple awards including the WhatsOnStage and Olivier Award for Best New Comedy plus a Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play. This edition features the original one-act edition of the play that's perfect to be enjoyed on the page as well as in
performance. A true global phenomenon, it is guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter.

The stage is set with a low-budget (but not terrible) depiction of the private rooms of a young wealthy man of the time. The back wall consists of three set flats: one stage left with a door in it, one stage right with a fireplace half-painted onto it, and one in the centre with a window in it, with curtains drawn in front of it.

A clock and barometer hang either side of the door. A chaise longue stands in the centre of the stage, a drinks trolley (not quite of the period) stands stage left, and a small table with a telephone and a vase on it downstage right. A coal scuttle sits beside the fireplace and other various set dressings from different periods of history fill the space.

As the audience enter, Annie (the stage manager) kneels by the bottom of the flat, trying to affix the mantelpiece onto the fireplace with no success.

House music drops to a lower level as Trevor (the lighting and sound operator) moves to the front of the stage.

Trevor Good evening ladies and gentlemen. A couple of announcements. Number one; turn your phones off. Secondly, if anyone finds a Duran Duran^* CD box set in the auditorium, I need that back, please hand it to me at the end of the performance. Enjoy the show.

Trevor exits to the lighting box.

Clearance.

Trevor cues the lights to fade to black. Annie still hasn’t finished the mantelpiece. Chris enters from around the back of the flats in the darkness.

Chris Leave it. Just leave it.

Annie We need . . .

Chris We haven’t got time.

Annie hurries off behind the flat, taking the mantelpiece and tools with her. Spotlight comes up, Chris hurries into it.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s spring production of The Murder at Haversham Manor.

I would like to personally welcome you to what will be my directorial debut, and my first production as head of the drama society.

We are particularly excited to present this play because, for the first time in the society’s history, we have managed to find a play that fits the company’s numbers perfectly. If we’re honest a lack of numbers has hampered past productions. Last year’s Chekhov play, Two Sisters. Or last Christmas’ The Lion and the Wardrobe, and of course our summer musical, Cat.

It may interest you to know that this will also be the first time the society has been able to stage a play of this scale. There’s no question that usually we have to contend with a small budget, such as in last year’s presentation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Peach. Of course, during the run of that particular show the peach went off, and we were forced to present a hastily devised alternative entitled James! Where’s Your Peach?

Finally we can afford to stage a play as it should be, and which, may I say, has been exceptionally well cast. I’m sure no one will forget the problems we’ve faced with casting before, such as our Christmas presentation of Snow White and the Tall, Broad Gentlemen, or indeed our previous year’s pantomime, another Disney classic: Ugly . . . and the Beast.

But now, on with the main event, which I am confident will be our best show yet! So without further ado, please put your hands together for Susie H. K. Brideswell’s thrilling whodunit – The Murder at Haversham Manor.

Chris exits around the flats and the stage lights fade to black. Jonathan (playing Charles Haversham) enters through the darkness. He loudly collides with the drinks trolley.

Jonathan (Under his breath.) Shit.

The lights suddenly come up on Jonathan. He freezes. The lights go out again. Jonathan takes up his position, dead, on the chaise longue, arm outstretched onto the floor. The lights come up again, just before he’s fully in position. Robert (playing Thomas Colleymoore) and Dennis (playing Perkins the butler) can be heard off, approaching the door.

Robert (Off.) Charley! Are you ready? We’re all waiting downstairs to raise a glass to your engagement! Charley?

Robert knocks on the door.

(Off.) Come along now, Charley, yo...