Christmas Carol Goes Wrong at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Following their multi award-winning sell-out success with The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC TV series The Goes Wrong Show, Mischief Theatre is back! The Cornley Amateur Drama Society are back with tidings of chaos and joy, ready to tackle the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. A new Christmas catastrophe of a production, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong smashes into Aylesbury Waterside Theatre direct from a strictly limited West End run. In Mischief’s version of the much-loved classic Christmas story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the Cornley crew hilariously battle miscommunication, delays to their set, actors missing in action and a growing feud over who will play the lead. Like Dicken’s famous protagonist, will Cornley finally change their ways, or will their misfortunes wreak havoc with hysterical consequences?

Since it’s conception in 2008, Mischief Theatre’s prestige has grown in leaps and bounds. It’s successes include The Play that Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, A Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Groan Ups, Mischief Movie Night, Magic Goes Wrong, The Mind Mangler and The Comedy About Spies. Their hugely successful six-part TV Series, The Goes Wrong Show, aired in the UK on BBC ONE and on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, and Australia. The show received a 2020 TV Choice Award nomination for Best Comedy and a second series was commissioned for a 2020 Christmas special, The Nativity.

Since I first saw extracts from The Play that Goes Wrong on The Royal Variety Performance in 2015, I have been in love with all things ‘Mischief’. Having seen and fallen in love with the TV adaptation of Peter Pan Goes Wrong on BBC1 back in 2016, I have since seen every production in their folio (some multiple times!) and was very excited to get to see this new production of Christmas Carol Goes Wrong.  

Like many of Mischief’s productions, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is ‘a play within a play’, featuring the (fictional) Cornley Drama Society, this time seeing them attempt to stage Charles Dickens classic seasonal ghost story. However, as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong … does! As the accident prone thesps battle against all the odds to reach their final curtain call, hilarious results ensue! Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that; but when the Cornley Drama Society is involved, who can guess what is going to happen next!

The tone for the piece is set even before you enter the auditorium, with a programme full of spelling mistakes, crossings out, various hilarious advertisements and notices relating to the Drama Society, an in-character welcomes from Chris Bean, The Cornley Drama Society’s President and director, as well as biographies for all the Cornley actors.  The production that follows is full of high energy and fast-paced set pieces and physical as well as lyrical comedy, showing great technical skill from the performers and wonderfully knowledgeable writing from the company. The writer’s ability to play with, mould and redirect words is once again expertly demonstrated leading to misunderstandings, puns and double entendre galore.

The play boasts a central cast of 8 actors and at least 5 very hard-working understudies who double as non-speaking characters and stage crew. As a Mischief fan, it was a joy to see the return of primary company members Chris Leask (Trevor), Henry Lewis (Robert), Jonathan Sayer (Dennis) and Greg Tannahill (Jonathan) as well as an array of new faces including Dumile Sibanda (Annie) and Ashley Tucker (Sandra).  I would like to give a special mention to Matt Cavendish in the part of Max; with seemingly unending energy, ‘Max’ is the member of Cornley’s production who plays all the ‘bit’ parts, at one point playing 5 characters in one scene! An excellently executed performance and nod to all the ‘swing’ actors who make real small scale theatre productions possible.

In addition to this, as in all Mischief productions, the set itself could very easily be considered a comedy performer in its own right. Keeps a look out for falling stage lights, dodgy handrails and oversized props and set items that don’t quite fit with the backdrop of Dickensian London! As the piece progresses, the mistakes and their potential fixes become more and more ridiculous. But the more absurd the action gets, the higher the stakes, and the harder the cast attempts to put things right, the louder and more joyfully we laugh.

In closing, the production is a comedy triumph and an ingenious and sharply executed piece of theatre, not to be missed. So come and enjoy a festive slice of pure escapism at the worst production in Christmas past, present and yet to come! Don’t be a Scrooge, get tickets now at www.atgtickets.com/shows/christmas-carol-gies-wrong/aylesbury-waterside-theatre or full details of all the tour dates can be found at www.mischiefcomedy.com. After leaving Aylesbury, the tour will continue as follows:

From 10 February 2026 to 15 February 2026

From 17 February 2026 to 22 February 2026

From 24 February 2026 to 1 March 2026