The Play that Goes Wrong hits you right on the funny bone

The Play that Goes Wrong - Benjamin McMahon as Dennis, Steven Rostance as Jonathan, Kazeem Tosin Amore as Robert, Elena Valentine as Sandra, Bobby Hirston as Max (Robert Day)

AS we took our seats at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, a finely dressed man approached us, introduced himself as the director and thanked our whole row individually for coming.

Moments later, people dressed in crew outfits scarpered across the venue, brandishing squeaky bone toys and asking if we’d seen a missing dog.

Even before the curtain had gone up, the show had started and the tireless cast of the Play that Goes Wrong had begun settling us into their world of comedy chaos.

From the moment ‘director’ Chris Bean (fresh from making himself familiar to the audience) took to the stage for a hilarious opening speech, it was clear we were in for the most professional of unprofessional shows.

As expected, everything that could go wrong in the ‘murder mystery’ does go wrong, and some fantastic set piece stunts and slapstick moments are pulled off with the sort of energy you’d expect if a toddler got their hands on a Red Bull.

Stand out performances come from Bobby Hirston, who had the audience in stitches simply with a smile, and Kazeem Tosin Amore, whose exasperated Robert had my companion rendered speechless with silent, eye-watering, body-shaking giggles.

It’s not hard to see why The Play that Goes Wrong is laden with awards, including the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Comedy.

During the interval, many of theatre goers said this was their second, third and even fourth time seeing the play.

This isn’t surprising, as the production has the same warm, comforting feel of curling up watching a well-loved sitcom with a cup of tea. The perfect, zany antidote to a dreary March evening.