I have no idea what happened in this show. There was a storyline of sorts, but the entertainment value came through in the various dice rolls. In what must be one of the easiest forms of audience participation I have come across, a number of small trays were passed around the audience. Each of them contained a twenty-sided die. Whenever someone with a tray in their hand wanted to, they would rattle the tray, and by doing so roll the die. The tray carrier would then raise their hand to catch the attention of the show’s moderator. At the earliest appropriate opportunity, the action would then pause, and the tray carrier, when invited, would call out the number on the die. Each number corresponds to an action, condition or instruction that the actors need to carry out.
The temptation to mention at least one of the twenty scenarios is great, but I resist it nonetheless, even if it results in a very short review. Sometimes as many as four dice would be rolled at more or less the same time, which resulted in multiple conditions being applied to a given scene, with ever more hilarious consequences. The entertainment value comes from elements of absurdity that keep being added to proceedings. If you want a memorable plotline and some character development, you’ll need to go elsewhere. The weather was, of course, not anything the production team could do anything about on the day, but it was stiflingly hot in the studio space on the day I attended, and so the show should be commended for holding the audience’s attention throughout – the riotous nature of the show very likely helped. Silly with a capital S, if that’s your cup of tea.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Three heroes. One dungeon. No dragons. After their smash-hit debut last year, Mistakes Were Made comes to Surgeons’ Hall with another chapter of their zany and chaotic tabletop improve show! When the party’s rescue mission in a haunted hospital goes wrong, they’ll need all their wits to escape… and to survive your dice rolls.
Ashley Brown – Co-Writer and Co-Director
Calum White – Cleric
Frederick Bang – Barbarian
Jacob Brown – Co-Writer and Co-Director
Lexi Crockford – Bartender and Surgeon
Luke McKerracher – Townspeople
Moira Hamilton – Wizard
Rae Phillips-Smith – Lighting and Sound Designer
Rosie Watts – Assistant Director
MISTAKES WERE MADE: HAUNTED HOSPITAL
theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
2 to 17 August 2024
Shows and events booking now for Edinburgh Playhouse and for King’s Theatre Glasgow.
