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The Play That Goes Wrong opens 2025/26 Season at the Grand Theatre
Slapstick Broadway hit NOW EXTENDED and ready to wreak havoc in London, Ontario
October 7, 2025 – London ON – The hilarious smash-hit on Broadway and in the UK, The Play That Goes Wrong, arrives with a bang at the Grand Theatre, and is already extended due to popular demand before even hitting the stage. Dennis Garnhum, former Grand Theatre Artistic Director, is set to direct the production with a crack-up company of actors and artists that have already packed theatres throughout Western Canada.
The red-carpet opening night of The Play That Goes Wrong officially marks the beginning of the Grand Theatre’s 2025/26 Season: You Are Here, the highly anticipated second season in the hands of Grand Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Peake.
“Whether it’s the magical kingdom of Arendelle, magic realism, or the magical power of community, so much of our 2025/26 season at the Grand is about the magic of theatre. The Play That Goes Wrong is a love letter to just that,” shares Peake. “This show has more tricks in it than any other show. And yet, what makes it so funny and delicious and appealing is not so much those outstanding effects, but instead the very human drive to go on with the show.”
The Play is a play about a play – and that play within the play goes terribly, horribly, hysterically wrong every single night, live on stage. If you work in the theatre, it’s your nightmare on repeat. If you’re in the audience, you’re in for the laugh of a lifetime.
“If the cast and crew let the problems stop the show and sent us all home, it would be a tragedy. But they don't. The show goes on, and they make it through. When I first read this play, I cheered for these characters from beginning to end,” shares Garnhum. “I know these people. I love these people. They are my hard-working colleagues, whom I've been around my entire life. Their passion is contagious and the play within the play, The Murder at Haversham Manor, goes down as a triumph simply because they saw it through and never give up despite the world figuratively – perhaps literally, definitely hilariously – tumbling down around them.”
Even as audience members are finding their seats, the cast is already in character and buzzing throughout the theatre, frantic about the opening night of Murder at Haversham Manor. It’s 1922 and the very fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is everything except prepared.
Alexander Ariate plays Jonathan (who plays Charles Haversham), Izad Etemadi and Emily Meadows play Stage Crew (who play Stage Crew), Vanessa Leticia Jetté plays Sandra (who plays 'Florence Colleymoore'), Andrew MacDonald-Smith plays Max (who plays 'Cecil Haversham' as well as 'Arthur'), Jawon Mapp plays Robert (who plays 'Thomas Colleymoore'), Bernardo Pacheco plays Trevor (Cornley Polytechnic’s lighting and sound operator), Honey Pham plays Annie (Cornley’s stage manager but also sometimes plays ‘Florence Colleymoore’ whether Sandra likes it or not), John Ullyatt plays Dennis (who plays ‘Perkins’), and Daniela Vlaskalic plays Krista (who directs the play within the play, and also plays 'Inspector Carter'). Got that? Good!
This Olivier Award-winning comedy offers a hilarious glimpse into the absolute worst-case scenarios that can unfold in the world of theatre. Premiering in 2012 in the UK, it went on to run over 745 performances on Broadway. Garnhum has helmed the production at the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), Theatre Calgary, and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg), and now plans to unleash its chaos in London at the Grand.
Garnhum is joined by Fight & Movement Director Morgan Yamada, Set Designer Beyata Hackborn, Costume Designer Joseph Abetria, Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, Sound Designer Dave Pierce with Donovan Siedle, and Stage Manager Jordan Guetter.
Join us at the Grand Theatre for another big set, even bigger laughs, another butler who gets caught up in the action, and of course, another corpse on a sofa.
The Play That Goes Wrong plays on the Spriet Stage at the Grand Theatre from October 14 to November 2. Single tickets range from $25 to $97 and are available at grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519.672.8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street.
The Grand Theatre is grateful to offer Canada Life Pay-What-You-Can pricing, presented on Sunday, October 19 at 2:00 p.m., as well as an Open Captioned Performance on Saturday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m.
The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor BMO, Downtown Community Partner Old Oak Properties, and Title Sponsor Bluestone Properties.
To learn more about The Play That Goes Wrong at the Grand Theatre, please visit grandtheatre.com/event/play-that-goes-wrong. Follow the production and peek behind the scenes by following @thegrandlondon and #GrandGoesWrong on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, & TikTok.
Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online at grandtheatre.com, by phoning the Box Office at 519.672.8800, or by visiting the Box Office in person at 471 Richmond Street (weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).
Subscriptions remain available and continue to offer the best pricing and best theatre experience.
The Play That Goes Wrong
By Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, & Jonathan Sayer
Directed by Dennis Garnhum
A revival of the Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s 2024 production
October 14 to November 2 on the Spriet Stage at the Grand Theatre
Title Sponsor: Bluestone Properties
Creative Team
Dennis Garnhum – Director
Morgan Yamada – Fight & Movement Director
Beyata Hackborn – Set Designer
Joseph Abetria – Costume Designer
Kimberly Purtell – Lighting Designer
Dave Pierce – Composer & Sound Designer
Donovan Seidle – Composer & Sound Designer
Jordan Guetter – Stage Manager
Lore Green – Assistant Stage Manager
Gina Woodward – Apprentice Stage Manager
Cast
Alexander Ariate – Jonathan/Intimacy Captain
Izad Etemadi – Stage Crew
Vanessa Leticia Jetté – Sandra
Andrew MacDonald-Smith – Max
Jawon Mapp – Robert
Emily Meadows – Stage Crew
Bernardo Pacheco – Trevor/Fight Captain
Honey Pham – Annie
John Ullyatt – Dennis
Daniela Vlaskalic – Krista
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The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional territories of the Original storytellers and caretakers of this land and the Nations, both settler and Indigenous, who continue to uphold the various treaties of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapéewak. We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nations, and all of the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (colonially known as North America), and acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we live, work, share, and tell stories together.
ABOUT THE GRAND THEATRE – WORLD CURIOUS. LONDON MADE.
The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premier producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians.
As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series’, community arts rentals, and cultural and special events.
A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the first program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-seventh year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team.
For more information, visit: grandtheatre.com.
For more information please contact:
Melissa Mae Shipley, Communications and Public Relations Manager
mshipley [at] grandtheatre.com (mshipley[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)
office: 519.672.9030 ext. 266
cell: 519.280.4008
PHOTOGRAPHY
*Production photography will be available Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
MEDIA CALL
When: Tuesday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. (Cameras, please arrive at 12:30 p.m. to set up)
Where: Spriet Stage, Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond Street, London, Ontario
What: Photo, video, and interview opportunities for media.
Header Photo
Honey Pham and John Ullyatt in The Play That Goes Wrong (2024, The Citadel Theatre in partnership with Theatre Calgary and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Director - Dennis Garnhum. Set and Props Designer - Beyata Hackborn. Costume Designer - Joseph Abetria. Sound Designer - Dave Pierce. Lighting Designer - Kimberly Purtell. Fight and Movement Director - Morgan Yamada. Photo by Nanc Price.
