How could things go so right?

I CAME late to Mischief Theatre, a group of former drama students who joined forces in 2008 to exploit the comic potential of stage disasters. I eventually caught up with The Play That Goes Wrong, still running at the Duchess Theatre, but found it much less funny than Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. Groan Ups, which kicked off the group’s year-long residency at the Vaudeville, also struck me as an over-familiar exploration of the idea that the child is father of the man—and woman.

I am pleased to report, however, that I have, the group’s second piece at the Vaudeville, has had mixed reviews, with some critics complaining about a lack of narrative drive, but that seems to me the whole point. There’s a loose framework suggesting that we’re at a charity fundraiser for injured magicians, but the real pleasure lies in watching an array of startlingly inept acts.