Over ten years after its opening in the West End, Mischief’s hit comedy continues to mesmerise audiences through its hilarious array of absurdity and goofiness. Guillermo Nazara chats with one of its new leads — to learn what it’s like working in a show when failure is the only recipe for success.
How does it feel to be starring in one of the most successful shows in West End history?
It’s such a huge honour, first and foremost, to be part of something that has become not only a British comedic institution, but also worldwide now. Stepping into the shoes of these incredible creators is such a tremendous job. It’s just extremely excited.
Does the hype the show has garnered over the years add pressure to your performance?
Absolutely! With any show that has been on for many years, there’s an element of doing justice to the role and keeping it at such a high standard. This comedy is so fantastic that you don’t want to let anyone down, because they’ve entrusted you with an iconic character. At the end of the day, all you can do is come up with is what you can actually offer. With the audition process, everything was very relaxed, because it’s all about being silly and having fun. As a performer, you need to come onstage with the thought that we’re just here to make people laugh, and help them escape from whatever is going on with their lives for at least two hours. That helps take away the pressure about our predecessors. We are here now. We are in the moment. Let’s just be silly!
Have you been given any creative freedom during the process of building your own version of the character?
That’s a good question! Obviously, it’s a carefully choreographed show, as it’s heavily blocked and features lots of stunts. However, regarding who my character, Chris, is, I keep in mind how important it is for him for the performance to go right. It’s his directorial debut, he’s cast himself in one of the big parts, and he wants to impress people. Remembering that all through the play, as more and more things go wrong, helps build up his frustration and dismay. For me, it’s all about tapping into that anger and going full throttle with it. It comes from a place of desperation, though — he only wants everything to work!
The play has a way of resonating with theatre professionals, as it’s not that unusual that everything is absolute mess right before a new show opens. Does it mirror any previous experiences you’ve had as a performer?
So many! A lot has gone wrong for me. When you do long jobs, there are so many moments when you dry, forget lines… One of the worst things that’s happened to me took place during my training, when I was playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. We were doing a fight scene, and my sword broke in half — just as it happens in the play! So I ended up fighting with two “daggers” against somebody holding a proper sword. We had to pretend that I was actually hitting the sword and just get on with it. Even though I don’t play that moment in the show, as it happens to another character, all the memories just flood back in every time I watch it. Your stomach drops and you need to carry on somehow because there’s an audience watching. But the fear and adrenaline always pushes you forward and somehow you come up with something to do in the moment until you’re back to normal.
The are so many scripted goofs throughout the show, but have you had any unexpected bloopers so far?
A few already! There is a bit where I’m sitting on a platform, when a sword suddenly comes through it. At that moment, I’m holding a ledger. One night, I was holding it a bit too low, so the sword hit the ledger and pushed it out of my hands and into the audience, landing on a side aisle. Luckily, my character has a wonderful relation with the audience, so I could interact with them so they brought the prop back and we could carry on as if nothing had happened. The good thing is that when things are wrong in the show, the audience believes it’s meant to happen. That allows us to cover so much without them knowing. We’ve also had so many moments when we couldn’t help laughing, especially if any viewer has a very funny giggle — that perpetuates the atmosphere and its silliness. Luckily, when things actually go wrong we can get away with it, and it adds up to the experience.
There have been so many slapstick comedies both by Mischief and across the London scene. Why do you think this show has managed to last for so long?
It’s two hours of silliness and escapism. We have lots of people that just come again and again. There’s a lot going on in the world right now and people just need to laugh. This was Mischief’s first show, and they’ve managed to create a staple show and learn what it’s about and create a whole world out of it, with other pieces like Comedy of Spies, Christmas Goes Wrong, etc. They’ve just seem to have the magic formula. It also taps into a very British form of humour, much in the style of Fawlty Towers, Spamalot and all of Monty Python’s creations.
Your character is actually quite similar to Basil…
Exactly. He’s very neurotic and wanting everything to go right.
Do you find any additional challenges in the role?
It’s a lot physically and vocally. There are a lot of stunts, and Chris is talking to everyone else trying to get things back on track. He’s shouting all the time, many times over a lot of noise. I’ve been playing the role for over a month now and it’s starting to settle — finding that muscle when it feels comfortable.
If you had to give me one single reason to come see The Play That Goes Wrong, which one would it be?
You just can’t come and not laugh. You’ll bite into the silliness and enjoy yourself for two hours.
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Production pictures credit to Matt Crockett.
The Play That Goes Wrong plays at London’s Duchess Theatre from Tuesday to Sunday. Tickets are available on the following link.