Christmas Carol Goes Wrong review: a funny festive farce

I love The Play That Goes Wrong. It’s been running for a decade in London and is a firm favourite among theatregoers.

It’s created by Mischief Theatre, who also produced The Comedy About Spies earlier this year. Their latest show is just as funny!

Christmas Carol Goes Wrong follows the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society - an eclectic am-dram group - putting on the Charles Dickens classic.

The cast argue their way through the auditions, with director Chris Bean eventually casting himself as Scrooge. That doesn’t stop larger-than-life Robert Groves butting in at every opportunity.

Groves, played by co-writer Henry Lewis, is excellent. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Lewis in The Play That Goes Wrong & The Comedy About Spies now - he’s got to be the funniest man in the West End. His energy, timing and stage presence is second to none.

The set is as funny as the constant gags - the set creator takes the model design a bit too literally, resulting in a ginormous box of Maltesers featuring prominently in the 19th Century town.

The play within a play is, of course, a complete disaster. It’s a romp through the Dickens tale, with wrong turns taken at every possible opportunity.

This production leans heavily on the jokes themselves, whereas the original Play That Goes Wrong uses more physical humour. It’s funny, but not as funny as Mischief’s main success.

As ever with this company, the timing is everything and this cast is just perfect.

It’ll put you in the festive spirit and you won’t stop laughing.

Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is at the Apollo Theatre until 25th January and then tours until March 2026.