Mischief Theatre

Chris Bean (originated by Henry Shields) is Cornley's director and often lead actor. At the helm of most of the troupe's often complicated productions, he is consistently exasperated by his fellow members and the mistakes that inevitably happen, though he is not above the occasional slip-up as well. He views his work as extremely serious and gets hot-headed when others regard it as silly and fun.

Robert Grove (originated by Henry Lewis) is Cornley's wannabe lead actor, who is frequently at odds with Chris over leading roles. He is bold and brash, believing that the key to a good performance is to simply be louder than everyone else. His niece Lucy is introduced in Peter Pan Goes Wrong and he is often shown as being incredibly critical of her performance.

Dennis Tyde (originated by Jonathan Sayer) is a supporting player within the troupe, though his inability to remember his lines often means he is relegated to playing objects rather than people. The Play That Goes Wrong establishes his stage fright and embarrassment over mistakes, but in succeeding productions he has been characterized more by his extreme forgetfulness and obliviousness instead.

Sandra Wilkinson (originated by Charlie Russell) is Cornley's lead actress. Like Chris, she is a straight man, often getting annoyed when her fellow actors make mistakes, but is not immune to them. She has a habit of sneaking seductive looks to the audience or camera, which can undermine the dialogue she says before them or her character in general. Her love life with a few of her fellow actors becomes a recurring plot point across productions.

Jonathan Harris (originated by Greg Tannahill) is a supporting player within the company who often juggles several roles. He plays the lead in Peter Pan Goes Wrong, but in A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong and from then on, his bit roles are characterized by his inability to perform properly due to certain circumstances. He is involved in a few love triangles across the Goes Wrong productions.

Max Bennett (originated by Dave Hearn) is another supporting player who often gets distracted by the audience. He is actually one of the best actors of the troupe when not busy hamming it up for the audience, but is usually cast in supporting roles. Along with Dennis, he is one of the kindest and most innocent members of the troupe, most evident in subplots revolving around his ability as an actor or his love life.

Annie Twilloil (originated by Nancy Zamit) starts off as Cornley's stage manager in The Play That Goes Wrong, but in subsequent productions has been promoted to supporting actress. Like Jonathan, she also tends to juggle several roles in a single production, and is often required to play men as well.

Trevor Watson (originated by Rob Falconer) is Cornley's technical director who later doubles as stage manager when Annie becomes an actress. Though he works behind the scenes, he always somehow makes his presence known; he also occasionally steps up when the troupe is in need of additional actors. He is portrayed by Rob Falconer in The Play That Goes Wrong, but in subsequent productions is played by Chris Leask.

Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carraway (originated by Bryony Corrigan) is the latest addition to the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as another female player, introduced in The Goes Wrong Show. Her work in the troupe is often characterized by being injured frequently during productions as well as a paralyzing inability to improvise, which only makes things worse when mistakes require it of her. Prior to Vanessa's introduction, Bryony Corrigan was an understudy for The Play That Goes Wrong; she later played a stagehand in Peter Pan Goes Wrong and the BBC receptionist in A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, though it is unknown if these are all separate characters.

The Play That Goes Wrong is a play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields.[15] It premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London in 2012,[16] moved to Trafalgar Studios in 2013,[17] toured the UK and internationally in 2014 and opened to the Duchess Theatre in the West End on 14 September 2014. In the play The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to put on a 1920s murder mystery, but the performance is beset with disasters and the accident prone cast struggle through every scene.

It won Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards and Best New Comedy at the WhatsOnStage.com Awards in 2014[18]

Its run in London's West End at the Duchess Theatre has been extended multiple times, and is still currently running.[19]

The play opened on Broadway in New York City at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2017 with the original West End company. It closed on Broadway in January 2019, before immediately moving to the Off-Broadway theatre New World Stages and reopening in February 2019, where it still continues to run. The Broadway company was followed by 2 North American touring companies and a sit-down production at Chicago's Broadway Playhouse. From July 2023 to August 2023, a short sit down production will take place at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center.

Foreign language productions of The Play that Goes Wrong have also been presented in France.[20]

Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a comedy play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields in the 'Goes Wrong' range. It premiered at the Pleasance Theatre in London in December 2013 before touring the UK in 2014 and 2015,[21] and in December 2015 it opened at London's Apollo Theatre.[22] Following widespread critical acclaim, Peter Pan Goes Wrong returned to the Apollo Theatre for a limited run from 21 October 2016 – 29 January 2017.[23]

The play is adapted from the original stage play Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and in it the inept and accident prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society set out to present the classic tale of Peter Pan with comical and disastrous results.

The production was nominated for two Off West End Awards in 2013 for Best Production [24] and Best Ensemble.[25]

Peter Pan Goes Wrong made its Broadway debut at the Barrymore Theater on 17 March 2023 (with an opening date scheduled for 19 April 2023) featuring a majority of the original company, and a number of US Mischief alumni.

The Comedy About a Bank Robbery is a comedy play, written by Lewis, Sayer and Shields.[26] The play opened at the West End's Criterion Theatre on 31 March 2016, with an official opening night on 21 April 2016. The production closed on 15 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original cast included: Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer, Nancy Zamit, Dave Hearn, Charlie Russell, Greg Tannahill, Jeremy Lloyd and Chris Leask

The play is directed by Mark Bell, with set design by David Farley and costume design by Roberto Surace.[27]

Lights! Camera! Improvise! is an improvised comedy show format devised and performed by Mischief Theatre.[28] The show was first presented at The Edinburgh Festival in August 2009[29] and has since been performed across the UK and internationally as well as at The Duchess Theatre in the West End.

In the show a film collector named Oscar invites the audience to suggest genres, locations and a title for a film which he then finds in his extensive DVD collection. A company of six or seven performers then improvise a longform narrative based on these ideas under the direction of Oscar.

In 2013 the production won a Spirit of the Fringe Award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[30]

In 2017 the show, renamed Mischief Movie Night, began a limited run at The Arts Theatre in London's West End.

In 2020 Mischief Theatre began live-streaming semi-regular performances of Mischief Movie Night In during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2019, Mischief Theatre began a yearlong residency at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End, alongside the long-running productions of The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery.

Groan Ups was written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, and was the first production of the residency, running from 20 September until 1 December 2019, featuring the original Mischief company and directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward.

Magic Goes Wrong is a collaboration between the company and Penn & Teller that combines the Goes Wrong formula with actual stage magic. The production began previews 14 December 2019, prior officially opening on 8 January 2020.[31] It had been extended to run until August 2020,[32] but the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down in March. The production reopens on 21 October 2021 at The Apollo Theatre for a strictly limited Christmas run.[33]

Mischief Theatre returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2022. In addition to Mischief Movie Night, Mischief also presented Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle (which is based on a character in Magic Goes Wrong) and Charlie Russell Aims to Please, a solo show written and starring original company member Charlie Russell. Outside of the official Mischief productions, company members participated in Starship Improvise at the Festival, partnering up with fellow improv-comedy group Showstoppers, including Ruth Bratt. Bratt had appeared in three series of the BAFTA award-winning BBC2 series People Just Do Nothing.[34]