TEHRAN – Iranshahr Theater in Tehran is hosting the play “The Murder of Mr. Haversham” every night on the stage of its Master Samandarian Hall.

Directed by Faraz Gholami, the 90-minute play has Ahmad Samimi, Azin Nazari, Erfan Ranjbar, Amin Zare, Ali Chaichi, Iman Nazifi, Fatemeh Zare, and Yasin Shahramian, among others, Mehr reported.

The original name of the play is “The Play That Goes Wrong” written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company.

Written in 2012, it is a farcical murder mystery, a play within a play, about the Cornley Drama Society that are putting on a 1920s murder mystery “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong... does! The accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences.

Before the play starts, the audience sees the backstage staff doing last-minute adjustments to the set, including trying to mend a broken mantelpiece and find a dog that has run off.

During the performance, a plethora of disasters befall the cast, including doors sticking, props falling from the walls, and floors collapsing. Cast members are seen misplacing props, forgetting lines, missing cues, breaking character, mispronouncing words, stepping on fingers, being hidden in a grandfather clock, being knocked unconscious, and being manhandled off stage.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” won the Best New Play at the Broadway World UK Award and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2015.

It has been translated and produced in over 30 countries, including China, Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, and Russia, among others.

Mischief Theater is a British theater company that was founded in 2008 by a group of students from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London, and directed by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. The group originally began by doing improvised comedy shows, but by 2012, they expanded into comedic theatrical performances that included choreographed routines, jokes, and stunts.

The company is primarily known for their comedic performances as the fictional theater company, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, enacting amateur performances that go wrong. In addition to “The Play That Goes Wrong,” other works by the company include the TV series “The Goes Wrong Show”. Several of the stage performances by the company have been shown in the West End of London, and also in theatres across the United Kingdom, North America, and Europe.

The play will remain on stage until September 25 at Iranshahr Theater, located at the Artists Park, North Mousavi Street, Taleqani Street.

SS/