The Play That Goes Wrong lives up to its name: how Tier 3 closed the last big theatre show standing
While the rest of British theatre was plunged into the doom and gloom of Tiers 3 or 4 before Christmas, miraculously, Theatre Royal Bath remained open. “Most of Somerset went into Tier 3 - somehow, Bath managed to stay in tier 2,” recalls producer Kenny Wax. “We were in this strange, unique position.”
However, the last big theatre show standing is no more, as further swathes of the country move into higher tiers today. That includes Bath and North East Somerset moving from Tier 2 to Tier 3, meaning theatres have to close.
Last night was the final performance for Mischief’s popular farce The Play That Goes Wrong at Theatre Royal Bath. Wax, who produces Mischief’s shows - and who has seen numerous production cancellations this year, including in the West End - said he was, of course, “disappointed”, but seemed resigned to the inevitable.
“It’s totally understandable. We appreciate the country’s not in a great place. But we’ve done our best to provide entertainment to people over the festive season. And at least we got in a couple of weeks of the run.”
In fact, that run also saw some behind-the-scenes drama, as one of the cast tested positive for Covid. Fortunately, some of the resting West End company of The Play That Goes Wrong were able to step in.
Wax’s main frustration is with “the Government’s communication and the timing of the shutdown. It’s like closing the borders and not giving people more than a few hours to make plans - it feels very knee-jerk.
“If they’d announced it two days ago, which is surely when they’d made that decision, we might have been able to let people know and more could have seen the show before this new lockdown.”
However, Wax says they’re going to “leave the show in the theatre [in Bath]. It might be February or even March when we come out of the tiering system, and we’ve got several weeks’ worth of people who’d booked to see it and may still want to then.”
He’s also planning of a tour of The Play That Goes Wrong in April - moved from an initial February schedule. “We’re hoping to take it to Canterbury, Eastbourne, Cambridge, The Lowry [in Salford], and Southampton Mayflower - even if it’s still playing to socially distanced audiences.”
Wax is also delighted by the response to streamed show Mischief Movie Night - moved online after its run at London’s Vaudeville Theatre was cut short. “I’ve never done streaming and I was cautious about it, but it’s been a huge success. By tonight, with our New Year’s Eve special, we’ll have played to about 100,000 people, including whole families watching together, in about 30 to 40 countries.”
However, the real “game-changer” for theatre going forward is the vaccine, notes Wax, so he welcomes the news that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved. “I’m over 50 - I’ve looked it up, and I’ve got a date for getting the vaccine somewhere in April. The sooner it can happen for everyone, then hopefully productions can open back up and we’ll get life back in all our theatres.”
Book tickets for Mischief Movie Night here
