As I take my seat this evening I’m aglow with a childlike glee I’ve had since I first heard Mischief Theatre were bringing Christmas Carol Goes Wrong to Nottingham. I’ve loved this concept from the beginning, and have joyfully giggled my way through the entire “Goes Wrong” canon, from The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, to the Comedy About Spies and others besides. I’ve adored watching Mischief Theatre grow from that tiny, riotous fringe idea, into a company that now effortlessly fills West End houses and tours the UK to boot. These are the same minds behind The Goes Wrong Show on television, and that extended family of farces that refuse to behave themselves properly. They’re an irrepressible British theatre troupe that was formed in 2008 by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields while they were students at LAMDA. I cannot help but feel we’re in for a treat, as this particular production stars many of the original founding members of the company and comes to us hot on the heels of their very successful festive residency at the Apollo on Shaftesbury Avenue.

From the opening beat, you know what you’re in for: crooked stage directions, fumbling performers and the delicious promise that virtually everything that can go wrong will go spectacularly, hilariously wrong. It’s immediately clear that the cast are excelling at (and enjoying) their roles as the hapless Cornley Amateur Dramatic Society. Daniel Fraser’s Chris – earnest, stubborn and painfully committed to his version of Scrooge – anchors a lot of the evening’s humour simply by maintaining a perfectly straight face amid utter absurdity. He gives a Scrooge to make Dickens proud, in spite of the ensuing carnage. Henry Lewis is Robert, the aspiring Scrooge and spectacular Ghost of Christmas ‘Present’ (literally), who brings his seasoned Mischief timing to every moment he’s onstage, while Jonathan Sayer’s Dennis carries that delightful air of confusion, reading all of his lines from the props and around the set. This gets me every time and never grows old. Greg Tannahill’s Jonathan adds a neurotic spice to the mix, and Annie played this evening by Siobhan Cha Cha, snaps beautifully between earnest commitment and comic frustration. Matt Cavendish puts in a quite charming turn as Max, the performer who simply wants to show off his range, and boy does he get the opportunity! Kudos to Chris Leask as Trevor, the stage hand with an attitude who gives a spectacularly Scottish Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (don’t ask!).

Tonight’s performance in Nottingham strikes that magical blend of precision and faux-improvised pandemonium that I’ve come to cherish. There are gags galore, prop catastrophes and perfectly timed fluffs and, as ever, they turn every mis-step into a shared joke with a knowing glance out to the audience. Yet beneath the surface chaos, there’s a warmth to this production – a sense of theatrical community that wraps you in laughter even as you watch yet another set piece rather predictably collapse.

The set design by Libby Todd is masterful and it is sumptuously lit by David Howe. Roberto Surace’s costumes could well have been made for a TV production of the Dickens classic. It is clear that this is no amateur operation.

As the final bows take place, I’m reminded exactly why Mischief Theatre has held my affection for so long. This isn’t comedy built on cheap chaos; it’s craftsmanship disguised as calamity, performed by actors who completely understand timing, trust and theatrical joy at the deepest level. Sitting here in Nottingham, weeping with laughter, I feel part of a shared celebration – of live theatre, of things going wrong, and of the sheer delight that comes from watching people commit fully to the mess. Christmas Carol Goes Wrong reaffirms why I fell in love with this company in the first place, and why I’ll keep coming back, happily braced for disaster, every single time. As the Cornley players themselves put it – “Who cares what the reviewer says?”.

Playing at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham until Saturday 31st January – get tickets any which way you can!

Photos credit: Mark Senior