Disarray befalls Dickens classic in Christmas Carol Goes Wrong

This festive farce is presented by the multi-award-winning company Mischief – the team behind the smash-hit shows The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong – sees the return of the ever-hapless Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society. This fumbling am-dram troupe is attempting to stage Charles Dickens’ familiar tale, but inevitably chaos ensues, from set problems to a feud over who gets to play the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Before anyone can say “Bah, humbug”, it’s total havoc.

Fans of Mischief’s BBC TV series, The Goes Wrong Show, will recall that the team initially tackled A Christmas Carol in 2017, but this new play is a completely fresh take, explains one of the show’s writers, Henry Lewis. “We felt there was a lot more we could do with it, so we were really excited to come back to it.

“One big change, and this is a first for us, is that we’re taking you into rehearsal. Audiences will actually get to see the Cornley players rehearsing and interacting before we go into the show itself and see everything fall apart.”

There are several storytelling advantages to this approach, explains Henry Shields, another of the writers. “We’ve always done a lot of improvisation when creating the Goes Wrong shows, so we’ve gotten to know the characters really well and we’ve built up their backstories, but the audience hasn’t had that same opportunity. It’s very exciting to get to share all of that, to give audiences more insight into these people and lend the show an emotional through-line.”

The plot of Christmas Carol Goes Wrong begins a few weeks before curtain up, with the company rehearsing in the empty theatre, and then moves into the show itself. That new structure allows the writers to introduce more intricate gags, explains Lewis.

“There are jokes we haven’t been able to do before that require detailed set-up. By showing the rehearsal, we can lay the groundwork. For example, if you know two people are arguing about a particular issue, or if you’ve seen an actor really struggling to deliver an emotional scene, then later on you’re primed for big comic pay-offs.”

Mischief fans will be happy to know that there’s still plenty of their signature riotous slapstick and set-based mayhem too. In fact, the introduction of rehearsals allows for a particularly striking example of the latter. “We have a model box of the set in the first part of the show, and various calamities befall it – things are broken or lost by the company,” says Shields. “Then the builders pick up the model and make the set exactly as they left it – to their horror!”

The eventual disasters are “some of the most ambitious we’ve ever attempted,” says Sayer. “We end Act I on a really huge visual spectacle.”

Dickens’ eternally popular tale is the perfect basis for a Mischief show, explains Shields, because it’s so well-known. “It’s probably one of the most adapted works ever. Most people have seen a version of it or maybe performed in it, or at least have a vague idea of the plot. That means we can then subvert the story, without having to over-explain what’s meant to be happening.”

The gravity and horror of this moral fable is key, notes Sayer. “The more seriously it can be taken, the funnier it is when Cornley’s antics undermine it.” Lewis adds: “We watched loads of adaptations which were very dry and ponderous and old-fashioned. It’s a delight to cut against that with our troupe really trying to be solemn – and completely missing the mark.”

That means all the Christmas Carol elements you’d expect are in there, explains Shields, like the visiting ghosts and Victorian costuming, and at its core is Dickens’s terrific story, but “you get the hilarious juxtaposition of the actors’ plight.”

The team have incorporated several real-life catastrophes into their shows. “The moment in The Play That Goes Wrong where the phone gets stuck to the table – that really happened,” sighs Lewis. “I also got stuck in a doggy door just like my character did in Peter Pan Goes Wrong.”

The Cornley company’s warring egos and interpersonal conflicts are based in truth too, although Shields points out that they’ll be recognisable to “anyone who’s worked in a team, not just in drama.”

However, there’s an inherent sweetness to this beleaguered troupe, observes Sayer. “You wonder why they’re still trying to put on productions when they always mess up, but there’s a sense of home they have with one another. There’s nowhere they’d rather be. It’s an odd sort of chosen family. They might bicker and fall over a bunch, but they would never consider quitting – they love every second of it.”

The Mischief team are equally close-knit (though thankfully much less prone to disaster), and they’ve developed a shorthand over the years, notes Lewis. “We have a good sense of how to write for these characters and for one another.” That’s crucial: although it might appear shambolic, this type of farce in fact requires absolute precision. “It’s almost like a dance. It has to be perfectly timed down to the millisecond – there’s no margin for error.”

Indeed, Matt DiCarlo, who directed Mischief’s most recent West End hit The Comedy About Spies, and who is returning to helm Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, says he’s found it helpful that he has a background in musical theatre. “Similarly, Mischief has a very particular rhythm that you have to nail. But the high risk factor is what makes the comedy so exhilarating.”

DiCarlo also appreciates that this is fun for all the family. “A truly multi-generational show is rare these days – one where kids, parents, grandparents are all laughing at the same thing. It’s a joyful, unifying experience.”

That applies even more to this festive favourite, although Shields warns to expect the unexpected. “You’ll get the tale that you know and love, but in a totally non-traditional way – this is A Christmas Carol as you’ve never seen it before. I can’t wait for the world to see our version of Tiny Tim! It’s Dickens with a very irreverent Mischief spin.”

Christmas Carol Goes Wrong runs at Nottingham Theatre Royal from Tuesday January 27 to Saturday January 31. Visit www.trch.co.uk or call 0115 989 5555 to book.