WOBBLY sets, over enthusiastic actors and sloppy stage hands is not usually a winning combination for opening night of a travelling stage show at the Bristol Hippodrome.

However, for The Play That Goes Wrong, every problem, argument and door slam gives the audience further proof that comic timing is everything. From the clever word play to the farcical rough and tumbling, the audience were enthralled with every miss timed step that ran like clock work.

The farcical play has slapstick comedy around every corner and presents the world of amateur dramatics in its best and worst light. I have been keen to see this show for years, and the cast of Kenny Wax Ltd and Stage Presence Ltd did not disappoint.

The show begins with the set of a country manor estate, with an upstairs study, fireplace and lots of props littering the stage. Last minute adjustments are hastily being made by the off stage crew to the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s set, as they begin their disastrous play within a play, Murder At Haversham Manor.

Gabriel Paul, playing the lazy sound and tech guy had some of the biggest laughs of the night and Bobby Hirston playing the victim’s brother Cecil Haversham in the doomed murder mystery stole the show as he crashed through his lines and actions during the show with gusto.

As the play progresses, hilarity ensues as the cast attempt to navigate their set as it falls apart and their co-stars mess up lines. The energy of the whole show is electric and the last scene is a fit of noise, violence and out and out chaos on stage.

The Play That Went Wrong is the creation of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduates Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields and went on to win an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. The show is performed until July 21. Tickets £16-£34.