THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Will Return to the West End in November

The Play That Goes Wrong, the Olivier Award-winning box office hit, has announced that it will return to the Duchess Theatre, its home for the last six years, from 19 November 2020.

Producers Kenny Wax and Stage Presence Ltd say, "The Play That Goes Wrong has been a tonic for people's spirits since first appearing seven years ago. We know how many thousands of performances have been on stage, how many people have bought tickets and how many hundreds of people have been employed.

Laughter has the power to bring people together across all divides, reduces tensions and produces joy. And we know how lacking all of those have been these challenging past six months.

So we count ourselves fortunate that our show is of a size where it is possible to re-open now, and while playing to the smaller-sized audience that social distancing requires, costs can just about be covered. Tickets from £15, Laughs priceless."

Audience capacity has been reduced to comply with COVID-19 Secure guidelines for social distancing plus robust risk mitigation. In addition to hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace, other measures will include contactless tickets, temperature testing and the deep clean and sanitation of the theatre. The Authors and the Director will be looking at various moments in the play in terms of rewrites and restaging to comply with Government guidelines. For further information please visit www.nimaxtheatres.com/covid-19-secure/

Producer Kenny Wax added, "We are one of a handful of small / middle scale productions who have low enough running costs to open with a socially distanced audience and even though we are unlikely to be able to make a profit we will be employing about 60 staff across the two productions in London and Bath. But we are still taking a significant risk without a government backed insurance scheme to cover further business cancellation due to COVID '19.

Our continual asks of government are (1) lift social distancing (2) provide a government backed insurance scheme"

Alongside this, The Play That Goes Wrong also announces today that the UK touring cast will play a strictly limited Christmas season at Theatre Royal Bath, from 17 December 2020 to 10 January 2021.

Awarded the 2014 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Comedy, the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and a Tony Award for the Broadway transfer, The Play That Goes Wrong continues to delight audiences in the West End. The show's success is a testament to the hard work and determination of a group of drama school graduates who became friends, set up a company under the name 'Mischief' and created an extraordinary body of work. The Play That Goes Wrong shows no signs of slowing down since its first performance at a London fringe venue with only four paying customers. Since then, it has played to an audience of over two million and now has productions in over 30 countries.

The Play That Goes Wrong is co-written by Mischief company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields and is directed by Mark Bell, with set designs by Nigel Hook, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Ric Mountjoy and sound design by Andy Johnson. The Play That Goes Wrong is produced in the West End by Kenny Wax Ltd and Stage Presence Ltd.