MANILA, Philippines — What happens when a theatre company attempts to stage a murder mystery but nearly everything goes wrong? Manila audiences are about to find out as The Play That Goes Wrong, the Olivier Award-winning British comedy, makes its Philippine debut at The Theatre at Solaire from November 6 to 22, 2026.
Led by Filipino stage performer Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante as Sandra, the Manila production brings together performers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The show promises an evening of physical comedy, collapsing scenery, misplaced props and increasingly disastrous attempts to keep a fictional stage production running.
Presented by GMG Productions in arrangement with Mischief Worldwide Ltd, the limited engagement will feature 15 performances across three weekends. Beyond its international cast and reputation for meticulously staged chaos, the Manila season is also introducing a dedicated Filipino Sign Language (FSL)-interpreted performance.
The production is therefore arriving with two significant promises: to entertain audiences through one of contemporary theatre’s most recognisable comedy formats and to make live performance more accessible to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing theatregoers.
Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante Leads the Manila Cast
Bradshaw-Volante takes on the role of Sandra, a leading member of the fictional Cornley Drama Society. Within the company’s amateur production, Sandra plays Florence Colleymoore, a character caught in the increasingly chaotic events of a 1920s murder mystery.
Her casting gives the Manila production a prominent Filipino performer at the centre of an otherwise international company.
Bradshaw-Volante has more than 15 years of stage experience. She made her professional debut as Liesl in The Sound of Music in 2011 and has since appeared in productions including Carrie the Musical, Saturday Night Fever, Fun Home, Kinky Boots, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Sweeney Todd.
Her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel earned her a Gawad Buhay Award for Female Featured Performance in a Musical. More recently, she appeared in Into the Woods, Man of La Mancha and Anthropology.
Carlos Candal, founder and chief executive officer of GMG Productions, described the casting as a source of pride for the company. He highlighted Bradshaw-Volante’s experience and her ability to bring a distinctive comic energy to the role.
Her appointment also reflects the growing visibility of Filipino performers in productions that bring together international theatre talent and local audiences.
An International Ensemble Brings the Chaos to Manila
Bradshaw-Volante will perform alongside an ensemble featuring actors with experience in the production’s West End and international touring versions.
The principal cast includes:
- Tom Babbage as Chris, whose theatre credits include the National Theatre production The Motive and the Cue.
- Owen Jenkins as Robert, an artistic director of FacePlant Theatre with previous West End experience in the comedy.
- Sebastiano Pitruzzello as Max, returning to the role after appearing in the 2025 Australia and New Zealand 10th Anniversary Tour.
- Liam Horrigan as Jonathan, who has performed in the West End and UK touring production.
- Tom Hayward as Dennis, an emerging New Zealand performer.
- Olivia Charalambous as Annie, an Australian actor and director.
- Jake Curran as Trevor, an actor with film, television and West End credits.
The understudy team includes Stephanie Astrid John, Stuart Vincent and Tom Bulpett.
Hannah Sharkey directs the Manila staging. Her previous work includes experience as a resident director on the West End production, as well as directing the Portuguese and Mexican replica versions.
The combination of performers with different production backgrounds gives the Manila season a connection to the show’s established international identity while introducing the work to a new audience.
What Is ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ About?
The comedy follows the Cornley Drama Society, an amateur theatre group determined to stage a traditional murder mystery titled The Murder at Haversham Manor.
The fictional production begins with the familiar ingredients of a classic whodunit: suspicious characters, a mysterious death and a house filled with secrets.
But the actors soon find themselves dealing with problems that become increasingly difficult to contain.
Props go missing. Lines are forgotten. Scenery refuses to cooperate. Performers struggle to maintain their characters as one unexpected mishap leads to another.
The humour comes from the contrast between the actors’ determination to deliver a serious theatrical performance and the increasingly ridiculous events unfolding around them.
The audience, meanwhile, gets to watch two performances at once: the fictional murder mystery and the fictional theatre company’s increasingly desperate attempt to finish it.
That play-within-a-play structure is central to the production’s appeal. It allows the performers to turn the technical demands and potential mishaps of live theatre into the foundation of the comedy.
Why the Disasters Require Extraordinary Precision
Although the production appears deliberately chaotic, its comedy depends on careful coordination.
A collapsing set, a misplaced prop or a performer missing a cue must happen at exactly the right moment to work as a joke. Physical comedy also requires performers to maintain timing, spatial awareness and coordination throughout the show.
The apparent disorder is therefore the result of tightly organised theatrical work.
This is part of what distinguishes The Play That Goes Wrong from a conventional comedy. Instead of relying primarily on dialogue or punchlines, it uses stagecraft itself as a source of humour.
For audiences, the appeal is easy to understand: the more seriously the fictional actors try to save their production, the more entertaining their failures become.
Manila Season Includes a Filipino Sign Language Performance
One of the most important features of the Manila engagement is its dedicated FSL-interpreted performance scheduled for November 13, 2026.
The initiative is part of GMG Productions’ effort to make live theatre more accessible to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audiences.
The project involves Deaf consultants and FSL interpreters from the De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde Center for Education Advancement of the Deaf and the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies–Interpreting Education Program.
A designated orchestra seating section will provide clear sightlines to both the stage and interpreters. This arrangement is intended to help audience members follow the performance without having to choose between watching the actors and seeing the interpretation.
GMG Productions has also announced that its upcoming February 2, 2027 performance of Heathers the Musical will include an FSL-interpreted presentation.
The initiative matters because accessibility in live entertainment involves more than making a venue physically available. Communication, interpretation, seating arrangements and audience experience also influence whether people can participate fully.
By including an interpreted performance in a major international production, the Manila season places accessibility within the planning of the theatrical experience itself.
From Four Paying Customers to an International Theatre Hit
The Play That Goes Wrong began as a production by Mischief, the British theatre company founded by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields.
Its early history was far removed from the international attention it would eventually receive. The show first appeared at London’s Old Red Lion Theatre, where its initial audience reportedly consisted of just four paying customers.
It subsequently grew into one of the company’s best-known productions.
The comedy received the 2014 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Comedy and the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Its Broadway transfer also earned a Tony Award for scenic design, recognising Nigel Hook’s work on the production.
The distinction is worth noting: the Tony recognition was for the show’s scenic design, while its Olivier and WhatsOnStage honours recognised its comedy.
According to Tatler’s report, the production has been seen by more than two million people across over 30 countries.
Its success helped establish Mischief as a major name in contemporary theatrical comedy, with other productions including Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, Groan Ups, Magic Goes Wrong and Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle.
The company’s work has also extended beyond the stage through television productions such as BBC One’s The Goes Wrong Show.
Philippine Theatre Continues to Welcome Different Productions
The Manila arrival of The Play That Goes Wrong comes amid a varied Philippine theatre season that includes international adaptations, original productions and performances for younger audiences.
WWC ONE MEDIA previously examined this range of creative approaches in Mark Mirando on Porvenir and Building a New Independent Theatre Company, which explored how an independent theatre company is seeking to create opportunities for Filipino artists and bring different stories to local audiences.
Another example is Cinderella Brings Fresh Fairy-Tale Magic to Philippine Theatre, which covered Repertory Philippines’ production for younger audiences.
These productions represent different approaches to theatre, from international comedy to locally developed artistic work and family-oriented musical storytelling.
For the Manila audience, The Play That Goes Wrong adds another internationally recognised production to that mix. Its appeal is not dependent on familiarity with a particular historical period or cultural reference. The central joke—watching a performance unravel despite everyone’s best efforts—is broadly understandable.
Dates, Venue and What Audiences Should Know
The Manila engagement is scheduled for November 6 to 22, 2026, at The Theatre at Solaire in Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Parañaque City.
The production has announced 15 performances across three weekends, with the November 13 staging designated for FSL interpretation.
Tickets are listed through TicketWorld, with additional event information available from GMG Productions. The FSL performance has a designated seating arrangement for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audience members and their companions.
The show is presented in arrangement with Mischief Worldwide Ltd.
Can Manila Audiences Expect a Comedy That Goes Wrong in All the Right Ways?
The arrival of The Play That Goes Wrong gives Manila audiences the opportunity to experience a production whose central attraction is the carefully engineered illusion of theatrical failure.
Its international cast, Filipino lead performer and established record of comedy give the show a strong foundation. The inclusion of an FSL-interpreted performance also adds a meaningful accessibility dimension to the local engagement.
But the production’s biggest challenge is also its defining promise: every apparent disaster must be convincing enough to surprise the audience while remaining precise enough to deliver the intended laugh.
For Bradshaw-Volante and the rest of the cast, that means making an elaborate sequence of rehearsed mishaps feel spontaneous night after night.
When the curtain rises in Manila, will audiences remember the murder mystery—or will the production’s spectacularly staged disasters steal the entire show?
