It’s been a whole year since I wrote anything about Mischief Theatre, but I recently got to see their festive stage show Christmas Carol Goes Wrong and it was spectacular. I’d previously only seen the BBC version, an hour long special which features the main story of Scrooge and the ghosts, and of course, plenty of things going wrong.

The stage show is extended, with more fun and games around the auditions, rehearsals and planning, and the aftermath of the disaster as well. I love the ridiculousness of some of the gags - the giant box of Maltesers was fantastic - but also that there are carry forwards from other productions - Jonathan’s fear of even the smallest height, thanks to his stint in Peter Pan.

It was great to see some of the original cast back doing what they do best, Henry Lewis is always a treat. And they all work together so well to create such mayhem that is somehow over-the-top but also kind of believable.

When I was exiting the theatre, a couple behind me were discussing what they’d seen and one said: “It was okay, but it was just so random.” I mean, comedy is subjective so you don’t have to like it but you could NEVER accuse Mischief productions of being random. They are so meticulously crafted, with such precision timing, and jokes that are set up early on and pay off so much later in big and small ways. Random they are not.

The show is going on a limited tour in the new year, so you have to catch it while it’s fresh, as it’s obviously the kind of thing you only really want to watch around the holidays. But I definitely recommend making the effort if you can because it’s a brilliant watch, as always.