A murder!!

- A review of Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s Murder at Haversham Manor

a.k.a The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre

Susie H.K. Brideswell’s Murder at Haversham Manor is presented by the Cornley

Polytechnic Drama Society at the Duchess Theatre on London’s West End. From

director/designer/prop maker/manager/PR/dramaturg/voice and dialect coach/fight

choreographer Chris Bean’s, who also plays Inspector Carter, fascinating mind, this adaptation

of the classic piece is truly… something. With an exciting programme with exciting interviews,

bios, and ads, and a lighting/sound board operator who was only there to get extra credit to pass

his Electrician course, the evening's events truly are a lot.

In actuality, Mischief Theatre’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess

Theatre is truly a night to be enjoyed filled with nearly 2 hours of straight laughs. The play

within a play trope is excitingly played up heavily with the world of Cornley Polytechnic Drama

Society intermixing with our own. Daniel Cech-Lucas’, who made his West End debut in this

show, Chris Bean introduces the show with an extremely comedic monologue that introduces us

to the world that these actors playing actors playing roles are living in. From here on in, the

comedy picks up pace. Gavin Dunn’s, writer on BAFTA Award-winning The Big Narstie Show

(Channel 4), Trevor Watson, the lighting & sound board operator who just could not care less

about his job, interacts with the audience before the show and during the interval. Improvising

based on the idea that the theatre is looking for a dog named Winston and that his Duran Duran

CDs have been lost. Every detail about these situations comes up later in the show.

Throughout the evening you will meet different people who exhibit very stereotypical

characteristics. The comedic Max Bennett, played by Ross Virgo, known for his brilliant work
doing a variety of projects, is a character who is distracted by the audience on stage. Robert

Grove, portrayed by understudy Harry Bradley on the performance on June 1, 2023, known for

being on the UK tour of Cluedo, gets increasingly more and more frustrated with the chaos that

ensues. In a moment where he looks for a lost object onstage and encourages audience members

to yell out for a time, he gets more and more snarky and hilariously frustrated with the audience.

As younger audience members continue to pester Robert/Bradley, his improvised reactions

increase in dramatics and hilarity. He, along with Max/Virgo have a comedic scene where they

literally hold the scene together and attempt to make a phone call. Dennis Tyde, portrayed by

Keith Ramsay, known for creating the one-man show Eve: All About Her for Edinburgh Festival

Fringe 2022, stands out as the accidental purveyor of chaos when he unknowingly contributes to

the confusion of the other characters/actors when he mistakes props, which gets the chaotic ball

rolling. Chris/Cech-Lucas, Dennis/Ramsay, and Max/Virgo have another physically comedic

scene in which they “extend” the phone line using their bodies to get to Robert/Bradley, who is

up on a fallen platform holding items in place.

From the very beginning, the set is falling apart. Trevor/Dunn asks an audience member

to help him hold up a mantle piece so he can duck tape it to the wall. Cleverly pieces are

misplaced and fall apart, until a very climactic ending.

Everyone is trying to keep this show going. After characters/actors are locked out,

knocked out, or nearly poisoned/fallen off tall set pieces, they continue. They try so hard to keep

the play “realistic” by seemingly coming up with improvised ways to keep going. While lines get

forgotten, cues missed, and bodies hurt, the plot continues forward. In an almost nod to the 1985

cult classic film based on the famous board game, Clue, the mystery is unraveled by Luke
Dayhill’s, who is known for the world premiere of All Lies at The Old Laundry Theatre Jonathan

Harris, who plays the murdered Charles Haversham, who (spoiler alert!) is not dead in the end.

Truly this show is the chaos that any theatre person dreads, but that the audience craves.

The amount of control that the production must have for a show of this caliber is truly insane.

This show is perfect for anyone, including younger audience members, because the comedy is

truly slapstick. If ever given the chance to view this show, would highly recommend doing so.