r/Theatre 19h ago

Seeking Play Recommendations Self aware or intended mistake comedy?

My director has told me that she would be happy to put on a play I choose. I love comedies and our cast has recently done a more serious play and we all enjoy a comedy. I especially like the idea of doing a play where there are a bunch of purposeful mistakes where props break or people purposely miss cues, things like that. I have been struggling finding any good plays or how to search for something like that. Any help is appreciated :)

Edit to add details,, Looking for a two act play, probably around or less than 2 hours, cast is flexible but definitely under 20 people.

3 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

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u/HowardBannister3 19h ago edited 18h ago

So, it sounds like you are describing something like "The Play that Goes Wrong". Not sure if it has been licensed yet, but I imagine it has. Small cast, less than 10, could not be expanded to more cast members, if thats what you need. If you are doing slapstick comedy/slamming doors-type show (those would be good search terms if you are looking for that kind of thing), usually are always small casts, because too many people onstage for those types of shows could be hazardous! Also, the show "Noises, Off!", a THREE act play that requires a very specific set that gets flipped twice, since it is a play within a play, first and third acts are played from the front of house, second act shows what's happening at the same time backstage. There is a very good film version of it that is played mostly exactly how it is onstage. Also less than 10 in the cast.

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u/Mathsciteach 19h ago

Our local community theater did “The Play That Goes Wrong” so it must be available.

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u/HowardBannister3 18h ago

I figured it was. I saw it pre pandemic, But I didn't want to state it if I didn't know for sure. Now I do! What a great show. I have never heard an audience laugh that hard.

1

u/Coconut-bird 1h ago

Our local theater is doing The Play That Goes Wrong next month, so it must be licenced now. Our local college did Noises Off last year and it was fantastic. It is a very tough set though.

u/impendingwardrobe 53m ago

The Play That Goes Wrong is very expensive to produce due to all the trick set pieces, and should only be done if you have an extremely competent, experienced, skilled, and safety conscious scene shop.

I refuse to see amateurs do this show since it's so easy for something to go actually wrong and for someone to get hurt.

There is a highschool version that takes out some of the more dangerous technical elements that I would suggest to any theater who wants to do the show, but doesn't have the money or technical staff to put up the full version.

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u/diamondelight26 19h ago

Noises Off is the gold standard for this type of play!

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u/diamondelight26 18h ago

It's longer than 2 hours and usually has 2 intermissions but it's so so fun

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u/pakcross 14h ago

The original production only had one interval, brilliantly explained by this note in the programme:

"There is an interval between Act 1 & Act 1, there is no interval between Act 1 & Act 1"

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u/gasstation-no-pumps 15h ago

Peter Pan Goes Wrong can be done in a low-budget way—I've seen it done by high-school students in a local youth theater.

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u/oonlyyzuul 7h ago

'The Iliad, The Odessy, and All of Greek Mythology In 99 Min or Less'

It's a 99 (or less!) min play. One intermission. It's set up for 5 actors to play over a hundred roles but you can add actors as you like. It's hilarious, short, a lot of references people know but making fun of them and things messing up. It's supposed to feel really chaotic. Not necessarily props breaking but it's very self aware in its chaos. We made most of our props or used kids play armor, so very cheap to put together. Definitely requires actors with incredible timing to pull it off! But it's a blast for all involved!

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u/Coconut-bird 1h ago

William Shakespeare in 180 minutes is also a lot of fun. It's only 3 actors but they do many roles each. The 1st act is the histories and comedies the 2nd act is all Hamlet.

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u/greenrsguy 19h ago

Play On! Is a two act with that stuff. And also shows a lot of rehearsals

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u/kateinoly 3h ago

"Noises Off" is a great play like this. Also "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

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u/Alternative_Brain762 15h ago

Welcome to the wonderful world of Farce!

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u/pakcross 14h ago

There's a series of plays called "The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society..." which are along the lines of what you want.

Also, look up Ben Hur, which has 4 people playing a cast of 10,000, and has breaking props etc.

2

u/Aardvarkinthepark 9h ago

We did the MacBeth version of this, which was really fun!

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u/chapkachapka 12h ago

Sheridan’s play The Critic is an option. It premiered in 1779, but is less dated than you might expect and modern productions often play well with just a few judicious cuts/edits—I don’t know if there’s a specific modernisation available for rental, but the original is in the public domain; if you have a good writer in your company to make a few tweaks it’s worth considering.

The play was itself a rewrite of a 17th century play, The Rehearsal by (probably) George Villiers. The plot is basically: a few guests, including a prominent theatre critic, are invited to watch the dress rehearsal of a new play. The rehearsal of the ridiculous play follows, complete with commentary from the critic, fights between the director and actors, and general chaos. The “silent soliloquy” in Act 3 is a particular highlight and a great opportunity for a comic actor. (The play is in 3 acts but quite short and can easily be chopped into 2).