Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is The Farce That Goes Right at Upright Theatre Co.

The Play That Goes Wrong

By: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields

Directed by: Cameron Byerly

Assistant Directed by: Hayden Casey

Audience Rating: PG

Running Time: 2 hours with a 15 min intermission

Accessible Seating: Available 

Hearing Devices: Not Available

Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available

ASL Showing: Not Available

Sound Level: Comfortable volume level

Audio/Visuals To Prepare For: gunshots, fog, crashing sounds

Reviewed by Kyle Lester

Mark the day, readers. It has finally happened. After decades of stage experience, countless lines memorized, steps danced, pleas to the musical director to “just drop the key half a step” for me, and an entire mint’s worth of money spent on show tickets, I’ve hit a huge milestone. On Friday, April 3, 2026, I, Kyle “Honey Badger” Lester (the nickname will catch on, trust me), endured what can only be described as the worst performance imaginable. Everything happening on the stage was so far below the community theatre bar that I can’t really even call it “theatre.” I’ve seen kindergarten choir concerts with more artistic integrity than this. Actors missed cues and fought audibly with each other backstage, props were lost entirely, fight choreography was clearly an afterthought, the set (if you can call it that) was flimsy and held together by scotch tape, and the sound design was so mismatched from the stage action that it felt like there was separate concert going on behind me. It was, without a doubt, a catastrophe of epic proportions.

And I loved every minute of it.

I am of course referring to The Murder at Haversham Manor, a fake play produced by the fictional Cornley University Drama Society, which provides the setting for Upright Theatre’s very real and ambitious production of The Play that Goes Wrong. If you haven’t heard of this British masterpiece or the additional plays and TV series that it spawned, it can be summarized succinctly: a small community theatre company produces an original murder mystery script with little budget, eccentric cast members (and one *very* disgruntled Duran-Duran enthusiast), and the audience gets to see the actual production of Haversham Manor in real time. Did I say “production”? I meant train-wreck. A glorious, chaotic train-wreck. 

Here’s the thing about this particular train-wreck: it has to be precise. Without getting too specific, the set is a full part of the action, with pieces of it literally falling off at key points throughout the show. The cast has to make sure to hit their marks on time, every time to avoid getting injured while making a comedy about a mystery becoming a comedy. Add in some surprisingly intense stage combat, and you can see how this farce really could go wrong…in the wrong way, that is. Directed by Cameron Byerly, Upright Theatre excels in meeting this challenge. Enough can’t be said about how Byerly’s production crew staged the show’s many set-pieces in a way that functioned as-needed while not making the stage seem too small. It’s not just that the set needs to fall apart, it’s that it needs to fall apart in the right place in the right way at the right cue without harming the actors. That calculated destruction also has to be repeatable for their weekend performance schedule. It’s a tall order for any theatre, but Upright’s smaller stage makes their success with this show all the more impressive. Attending the opening night performance was well worth it for the technical feats, alone.

Likewise, the deceptively large cast is at the top of their game here. They thrive in the absurdity and expertly play off of each other (although not very nicely), even as the stage literally falls down around them. A particular tip’o the cap goes to Dustin Perkins and Tim Bass, who risked a very real 6-foot fall from a sloping platform, all just to make us laugh for a few hours (*whispers: “it was worth it. DO IT AGAIN.”) There is really no “safe place” in the cast, though – every member takes their turn in a mad sprint of physical comedy before passing the baton, usually when someone simulates getting knocked unconscious from a standing position. Even aside from the pratfalls, this ensemble excels at delivering the obliviousness and chaos of the show. In fact, several of them can be seen wandering the audience, in-character before the show and during intermission. (Of course, others might be more noticeable later on when they have an epic street-fight that spans the entire stage, courtesy of committed performances from Laura Lester and Bailey Lund.) It’s a true joy to watch how the entire space is absorbed into the show’s insanity, audience included.

Upright Theatre’s The Play that Goes Wrong is a messy, hilarious romp through the delicate world of community theatre. The humor hits harder if you’ve had any experience behind the curtain, but it’s still plenty enjoyable for strangers to the stage. Byerly’s amazing cast and crew fires on all cylinders here, upping the ridiculousness by the minute and keeping the audience rolling. From start to finish, Upright gives its audience a unique and captivating experience with this production. I do hope you’ll take them up on the offer. Tickets can be purchased at uprighttheatre.org

Cheers, and I’ll see you at the next curtain!

Kyle Lester