Langley HS Gets It Right With Comedic Production Of 'The Play That Goes Wrong'

By Ailinn Colarulli
Alexandria City High School

Shattering vases, falling walls, and flickering lights are things that one usually doesn't expect to see during a play, but in Langley High School's "The Play That Goes Wrong," the most unexpected happens to make someone immersed in a story that is surrounded by all sorts of difficulties.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" is a comedy play written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields that sets up the plot of a theatre company trying to put on a show, but everything goes wrong. It was originally released in London in 2012 and then proceeded to take multiple tours across the UK, play on Broadway from 2017-2019, and continue as an Off-Broadway show. The basic plot of the story follows five main actors Robert, Dennis, Max, Sandra and Chrisin their attempt to put on a murder mystery play. However, with the addition of many tech members also interacting to help stop the catastrophic state of the show, this show combines on stage and behind the scenes characters to surprise the audience with beautiful comedic timing and a never-ending display of disaster.

Yann Lam as Max brought a deliberate mastery of character choices to his performances for Cecil and the gardener. With incredible physical comedy and creative hand gestures, Lam perfectly embodied the persona of a bad actor, by being an incredibly skilled one. Trevor, played by Alec McFadyen, is the perfect example of a continuous character, with him being sat in a chair in the auditorium for a majority of the show. McFadyen's ability to stay in character even when not speaking shows an incredibly skilled performance, that brings the audience into the show even while watching an unsuspecting techie looking for his Duran Duran cds. The character development of Sophia Christiano's Sandra is something to be studied, with her lengthy but detailed growth from the dramatic characterization of Florence in the first act, to the deranged persona of the second act. The chemistry of the entire cast added to this incredible performance, creating a world of mystery while chaos was heavily present.

The background to the show of the set, designed by Mo Rees, was extremely impressive, with an almost graceful way of the different parts of it falling off throughout the show. With embedded props, managed by Gauri Pillai, that added the finishing touches to the house, the breaking down world created by the set designers furthered the immersion of the audience into the production. The exact lighting and sound cues throughout the show made it so the disaster and ruin of the house seemed real, as falling paintings and shattered glasses were perfectly matched with their sounds, designed by Nate Lee, and the quick lighting switches, designed by Marius Franklin, fit every moment amazingly. The quickness and precision of the makeup, designed by Robin Rose-Flannery, made the accidents seem more real, by creating injuries on the character's bodies to better close the gap between fiction and reality. Specifically, the makeup changes of adding blood to Trevor's face after his fall was executed smoothly and created a more realistic image of a bruised and bloody face.

Overall, this show is full of incredible comedic timing, theatre company chaos, and realistic makeup changes that make audience members want to jump on stage with the actors and behind the scenes stage crew members finally get the recognition they deserve, through the mysterious and everchanging world of Langley High School's "The Play That Goes Wrong."