BBC to screen Peter Pan Goes Wrong
- BBC One is to show a version of hit stage show Peter Pan Goes Wrong this Christmas
- The West End farce has been highly praised and won several awards
BBC One is to show Peter Pan Goes Wrong, a TV version of the award-winning West End comedy show.
The BBC explain: "This Christmas, Peter Pan is coming to BBC One but it might not be what you expect. Straight from the West End stage, the Olivier Award winning Mischief Theatre bring their smash hit play, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, to television."
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a play within a play. Audiences are invited to watch a performance by an amateur theatre group - and in their show, nothing goes to plan; from dodgy props to bad acting and staging mishaps.
The highly rated farce is a sequel to The Play That Goes Wrong. The BBC add: "Both 'Goes Wrong' productions are renowned for their highly physical comedy packed with finely-tuned farce and Buster Keaton-inspired slapstick delivered with split-second timing."
Explaining the premise of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, producers say: "As part of its commitment to community theatre, the BBC has allowed The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, an amateur dramatics group, to put on a show as part of their festive programming. But can they pull it off? Filmed in front of a live audience, watching as Peter Pan flies through the air, Captain Hook and his pirates set adrift in the lagoon, and Tinkerbell is due to light up the stage in a stunning electrical costume... what can possibly go wrong?!
"With their trademark comic mayhem expect hilarious stunts, chaos, technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes on the way to Neverland with hilarious and disastrous results."
BBC commissioner Shane Allen says: "This word-of-mouth phenomenon is an absolute riot that plays to all ages and hits the sweet spot for the BBC One family audience."
Chris Sussman, Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, adds: "Peter Pan Goes Wrong was one of the funniest shows I've ever seen in the theatre, and I'm thrilled we've got the chance to bring it to BBC One. Terrifying stunts, a revolving stage and a cast who've never done TV before. What could possibly go wrong?"
Mischief Theatre themselves comment: "We are delighted to be bringing the mishaps of The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society's production of Peter Pan to BBC One this Christmas. We are quite staggered at the success of the simply disastrous stage shows this company keeps putting on and hope that their attempt at television doesn't ruin the nation's festive cheer!"
The show is due to be filmed at Pinewood Studios in September (Tickets) for broadcast on TV this Christmas. The show's original writers and cast, currently starring in their third West End production, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, will take time out from the show to film the special.
The group's prior production, The Play That Goes Wrong, was a highly-praised feature in the 2015 Royal Variety Performance.