Abracadabra! As their weekly episodes of The Goes Wrong Show continue to delight television audiences, I was delighted to continue my series of Mischief Theatre post-show talks with a return to the Vaudeville Theatre to catch up with the company’s co-writers – Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis and Henry Shields – and their co-stars in the latest goes-wrong stage comedy.
Magic Goes Wrong marks another first for Mischief: they’ve created it in collaboration with magic legends Penn & Teller. And to add some extra magic dust, it’s co-produced by Star Wars director and impresario JJ Abrams.
In the show, a hapless gang of magicians are presenting a charity event to raise funds for victims of magic accidents. But as their own onstage accidents spiral out of control, so does their fundraising target.
It’s the biggest and most complex Mischief Theatre production to date, directed by Adam Megiddo and designed by Will Bowen, with costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by David Howe, sound by Paul Groothuis, music by Duncan McLean – and, most important for a magic show, a magic consultant in the form of award-winning illusionist and Gold Star Member of the Inner Magic Circle Ben Hart (who shares a fascinating history with Henry Lewis!).
For last night’s post-show discussion, I was joined by Lewis, Sayer and Shields as well as fellow cast members Nancy Zamit and Dave Hearn (also founding Mischief company members who’ve helped originate all the productions), Roxy Faridany and Laurence Pears.
Find out:
- Are magic tricks copyrighted?
- How long does it take to craft a Mischief joke?
- Did Teller speak to any of them?
- How did Derren Brown and David Copperfield get involved?
- Who was a member of the Junior Magic Circle?
- Who got a part as a stormtrooper in #StarWars?!
- …. And much more! Watch and share the full Q&A video below.
Q&A video
Q&A photos
Event photography by Anthony Kelly.
Live-tweeting
Magic Goes Wrong Q&A – Curated tweets by MyTheatreMates
Terri Paddock founded WhatsOnStage.com and the WhatsOnStage Awards, running the company and its events from 1996 to 2013. Terri is also the author of two novels, Come Clean and Beware the Dwarfs, and has previously written for the Evening Standard, Independent, The Times and other national publications. She is renowned for her 'legendary' post-show Q&As and also produces the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and acts as a digital, content strategy and event consultant for theatre, producers and other clients. She tweets about theatre at @TerriPaddock.
