Christmas Carol Goes Wrong @ The Apollo Theatre

Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is another strong spoke in the Mischief Comedy Wheel. The play, written once again by Henry Shields, Henry Lewis, and Jonathan Sayer, opened this weekend to a packed theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. 

After finally confirming that Chris will once again be playing the lead – much to Robert’s (Henry Lewis) chagrin – we launch into the production. As with all Mischief shows, the energy is high from the start and carries the whole way through, with the farcical door slams, prop failures, and set mishaps that we have come to know and love. There is specifically a great set up and pay off with the set, featuring everything from an oversized maltesers box, a Barbie dreamhouse kitchen, to a terrifyingly large actor-eating puppet. The more expected pieces of set – beautiful Victorian London houses and shops – shine just as brightly thanks to the set designer Libby Todd and move smoothly throughout scene progressions. The mastery of the scene transitions show how skilled the cast are, and how much prowess it takes to transform this talented cast into a big group of idiots.

As for the cast, whilst all strong, Nancy Zamit stole the show in several places, in particular her feature as the Ghost of Christmas Future when her faux-floating effect comes undone (literally) and she’s left gyrating her loose legs about the stage, leaving the front row doing the difficult task of both laughing and ducking flying feet. Dennis (Jonathan Sayer) garnered some great laughs as well, as we saw the familiar gag of him being creatively fed his lines, this time dotted around the walls and furniture. This moment is something that you can enjoy whether you are a seasoned mischief aficionado or brand new to the group, proven by both I (the former) and my guest (the latter) remarking on it afterwards. 
As always, Mischief has once again made an enjoyable romp of a play, excellent for all ages, and a brilliant way to spend a cold winter evening. Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is on at the Apollo Theatre until January 26th, get tickets here