Twelve years into its West End run, The Play That Goes Wrong has pushed its booking period at the Duchess Theatre out to 31 January 2028, carrying Mischief’s first West End show into the company’s twentieth anniversary year.
The Play That Goes Wrong will keep falling apart at the Duchess Theatre until 31 January 2028. Mischief announced the extension on Wednesday 9 September, the day the production turned twelve in the West End, and the new date takes the show into the company’s own twentieth anniversary year.
That overlap is really the story. Mischief was founded in 2008 by a group of LAMDA graduates working as an improvised comedy troupe, and the show that became its calling card opened at the Duchess in September 2014 after early performances in front of tiny audiences at the Old Red Lion. Booking to January 2028 means the company’s first West End production is still playing eight times a week as the company itself turns twenty.
Mischief founders Henry Lewis, artistic director, and Jonathan Sayer, creative director, said: “We are absolutely thrilled, and deeply bewildered, that The Play That Goes Wrong is extending its booking into January 2028. When we first created this show as drama school graduates, performing to an audience of just four paying customers at the Old Red Lion Theatre, we genuinely didn’t think we’d survive the month—let alone twelve years in London’s West End.”
They added: “To think that our beautifully choreographed disasters will keep wrecking the Duchess Theatre infrastructure through to 2028 is a testament to the incredible support of our audiences, the brilliance of our cast and crew, and the sheer durability of Nigel Hook’s collapsing set designs. We are immensely grateful to the two million plus theatregoers who have joined the chaos, and we can’t wait to spend the next few years making sure absolutely nothing goes right!”
The Cornley Drama Society, for its part, has said it intends to keep performing the show until it gets it 100% right. Cornley have yet to notice the new extension date.
The company currently providing the mayhem is Ruby Ablett as Annie, Matthew Spencer as Chris, Raphael Bushay as Robert, Luke Wilson as Jonathan, Lucinda Turner as Sandra, Alex Bird as Dennis, Joshua Lendon as Max and Kieron Michael as Trevor, with Winston the dog returning as Winston the dog, should Winston be found. The understudies are Paige Round, Harry Al-Adwani, Tom Quinn, Will Bishop and Phoenix Edwards. The production is presented by Kenny Wax and Stage Presence.
Mischief is hardly short of work elsewhere. The Comedy About Spies, which took the WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play and an Olivier nomination for Best New Comedy or Entertainment, is back in the West End for a limited summer season at the Adelphi Theatre until 26 September 2026. Thespians, the company’s first musical comedy, has just completed a UK tour and holds two Stage Debut Award nominations. Plans for the twentieth anniversary itself are promised in due course.
The Play That Goes Wrong is booking at the Duchess Theatre until 31 January 2028. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Saturday at 2.30pm and Sunday performances at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets start at £20, including a £1.25 theatre restoration levy. The running time is two hours including an interval, and the show is recommended for ages 8 and over.
