“I didn’t know this was supposed to be bad,”—I overheard the audience member next to me whisper. This sentence perfectly encapsulates the theatrical genius of Players’ Theatre’s newest play, The One Act Play That Goes Wrong, which ran from Feb. 17 to Feb 20. Originally written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer, Odessa Rontogiannis, U3 Arts, directed the Players’ Theatre adaptation, delivering just what was needed: The worst play ever, in the best way possible.
The production is meant to confuse the audience. In The Murder at Haversham Manor, a play-within-a-play, spectators watch as the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society puts on a whodunnit mystery revolving around the death of Charles Haversham (Luca McAndrew, U1 ArtSci), as the actors attempt to keep the show from falling apart. Some scenes came out more cohesive than others, but the bad ones were particularly hilarious, with every actor scrambling to disguise forgotten lines, broken props, and wrong cues, all while navigating the two plotlines unfolding on stage.
One thing is certain: The casting was flawless. Each cast member was able to fully embody their character while simultaneously portraying an actor who is trying to. Shea McDonnell, U2 Arts, exemplified the tension of a confused co-star playing an authoritative figure, while Lauren Hodgins, U2 Arts, personified rivalrous envy on stage. Gemma Martin, U1 Arts, epitomized the timidity of a typical stage manager: Her flat acting and awkward hesitations blurred the line between the performer and the character.
Just when the scene starts turning stale, the unexpected happens: McAndrew, with his explosive acting, bursts onto the stage at the wrong time. The set falls apart, with the stage manager rushing in to hold everything together. The PA system announces that a Duran Duran CD box has been found. The set plunges into total chaos. The cast runs out of breath as they reenact the same scene for the fourth time, each repetition an escalation in absurdity and disorder.
From lights on to curtain call, the production team deserves praise for being perfectly imperfect. There was a meticulous amount of confusion with the lights, the announcements, and the endless repetition of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. The technical ‘mistakes’ were executed with careful control, making the audience question whether a malfunction was truly a malfunction or a part of the script. We’ll never truly know—but we don’t need to.
Even the props deserve acknowledgement—or criticism. The production felt as if the Players’ Theatre’s budget was burnt through: Uneven papers cut into circles served as snowballs, and were later reused as blood after being coloured red. But the play’s true comedy lies in the discomfort it feeds to the audience—another skillful choice. Meanwhile, Inspector Carter’s costume design, along with the most enthusiastic acting by Naomi Decker, MA in English, created a character that many audience members will never forget.
Ultimately, The One Act Play that Goes Wrong succeeds because it invites the audience to simply let go of perfection—of expectation, of interpretation, and of true meaning. For an hour, we were able to kick back and enjoy the banter between Bennett Samberg, U3 Arts, and Elias Luz, U1 Arts, who played Perkins and Cecil. For an hour, we were not expected to decode hidden symbolisms behind sophisticated acting or follow intricate plot twists. This production demonstrates that the joy of theatre lies not in polished perfection, but in the chaotic process of figuring it out.
By the time McAndrew utters their final line in the play, the audience is sure of one thing—the play was supposed to be bad. Disaster is the design, and its utter mediocrity is key to its humorous delivery. Rontogiannis successfully created a space where her actors and staff could use the stage as a creative outlet, and in the process, spark ripples of laughter through the crowd.
Cast member Shea McDonnell is a Staff Writer at The Tribune and was not involved in the publication of this article.
