Waterworks prepares for ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’

Published 1:53 am Friday, August 1, 2025

To say that Scott Chapman, director of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” opening August 1 at the Waterworks Theatre, likes murder mysteries is a classic understatement.  

“I’ve loved murder mysteries since high school, especially the British ones,” he said during a recent interview.  “I discovered Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”—first the novel, then the play—during my freshman year.  I soon moved on to stories like “Toward Zero,” and especially “The Mousetrap” play.” 

So Christie was indeed an entry into the murder mystery genre, then?

“Yes, very much so,” Chapman said. “The first two summer plays I directed at Waterworks were ‘And Then There Were None’ in 2017, and ‘The Mousetrap’ in 2019. And I followed those with ‘The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,’ in 2022. The play I’m directing now has a lot of the classic Christie hallmarks:  an English manor house, complete with a library and an upstairs center window and study, and of course the standard stock characters—a dowager, a butler, a gardener.”

This next Waterworks production will be the final one of the current season. In “The Play that Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, you have a hapless theatre company attempting to put on an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery, but things go frenetically awry.  A bevy of Waterworks veterans comprise the cast:  Emily Kane, Melissa Meinhard, Greg Tsigaridas, Raine Bence, Drew Dickerson, Garret Ward, James Eggleston, Ric Andersen, Billy Tucker, Amy Poe,  and Marie Sentz.  And be on the lookout for Triscuit the Dog.

Waterworks mixing in meta 

One thing about Agatha Christie’s works, both her novels and plays, is that they often contain what’s known as “meta” aspects, reflecting on the nature of mystery and storytelling. By that, we mean the characters may realize they’re in a fictional performance or interact with the audience. One example is in her novel “At Bertram’s Hotel”, where it’s suggested there is a self-awareness of Christie’s own position in the crime fiction genre. And then her play “The Mousetrap” uses the audience in the mystery. 

So with that in mind, what about this Waterworks production? Is there a “meta” aspect to “The Play That Goes Wrong” that might make it particularly enjoyable for the Christie lovers in the audience?

“There definitely is,” Chapman said. “A Christie murder mystery is famous for its “twist” at the end. This play has a twist too, but it’s different.  It’s as if you took your classic murder mystery and mashed it up with disaster—a farcical disaster, though. This play is hilarious.”

What does the twist look like?  Would it be possible to describe this mashup a bit?

“Without giving away too much, I’d just say that there’s a local theatre group, The Cornley Drama Society, that is about to put on ‘The Murder at Haversham Manor,’ a murder mystery rather like ‘The Mousetrap,” Chapman said. “It’s opening night, and from the very start things go terribly wrong:  the set doesn’t function properly, there are lost and missed cues—it’s every actor’s worst nightmare.  And the set, in its own way, reflects this.  ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ may be one of the funniest plays a Waterworks audience has seen.”

But the crucial thing, Chapman said, is that even though the play is a farce, the actors can’t play it that way. 

“For the characters they’re portraying, ‘The Murder at Haversham Manor’ is a serious undertaking,” he added. “If this play is done right the audience will want to players to be successful.  The title, after all, is ‘The Play That Goes Wrong,’ not ‘The Play That’s Done Badly.’”

Play takes on its own character

So would it be accurate to say that the set in this play is practically a character itself?

“Yes, absolutely!” Chapman said. “This set is not just a place where things happen.  It functions like a machine, but it’s also a space where everybody’s safe in spite of the chaos that happens.  This is the most complex set I’ve ever designed and built.  It’s sort of a homage to Moffatt Evans, who I worked with on ‘The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.’  That was his last show.”

“One last thing,” Chapman said.  “The cast and crew for this show are fantastic.  In theatre, it’s all about the team—teamwork, collaboration, commitment—to bring the show to life.  I may lead/steer the ship as director, but without each and every person on the team, there is no show.  Folks should take time to look at the cast and crew lists and bios in the program before this play starts.”

When can we see the Waterworks show? 

‘The Play that Goes Wrong’ will be performed on Aug. 1, 2 and 3, as well as Aug. 8, Aug. 9 and Aug. 10. All shows except Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 will be at 7:30 p.m. The Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 shows will be a 2 p.m. matinee. The Waterworks Theatre is located at 25 SMI Way in Farmville. For ticket information, consult the Waterworks website at waterworksplayers.org.

Editor’s note: Craig Challender wrote this for The Farmville Herald.