Interview: Chris Lanceley on Leaving THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG After Over Seven Years

After over seven years of playing Chris Bean in The Play That Goes Wrong off-Broadway, Chris Lanceley is hanging up the mustache. We had the chance to speak with the actor before leaving the show, discussing how he first got started with The Play That Goes Wrong, what it’s been like playing multiple characters, and why the show will always be a place for him to come home to.

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How did you first get started in the world of theatre?

When I was eight or nine years old, there was a school play. The audition notice went up, and it said, “Would you like to be in the school play? How many lines would you like? A lot, a medium amount, or not many?” I said, “Not many.” Ended up playing Nurse Anaesthetic, which is a genius name in a play! I was behind a white cloth, and it was just a silhouette of me taking things out of somebody's stomach. Every time that happened, the audience laughed, and I loved it! I was like, “Actually, you know what? Next time, lots of lines,” and since then, I've auditioned for absolutely everything that I could.

And what first made you want to be a part of The Play That Goes Wrong?

Well, my agent sent me the audition! That was the very first thing, because I hadn't seen it yet. It was one of those shows that I was gonna see in London when I was back home, so I hadn't seen it yet on Broadway. I watched the Royal Variety Performance video when I got my agent's email. I was back in the UK in January 2019, and I flew back early for the audition. I brought my flight forward because when I saw that Royal Variety video, I was like, “This is hilarious! This is exactly the kind of comedy I watched growing up. It's the kind of comedy I'm into. This is the perfect job for me as an actor. I love it.” I desperately wanted to be a part of it ever since watching the Royal Variety Performance.

And for those who might be unfamiliar with The Play That Goes Wrong, can you tell us a bit about it and the role that you play?

I play Chris Bean in The Play That Goes Wrong. He is the director of a murder mystery play put up by the Cornley University Drama Society, an amateur production - but that doesn't mean there's a lack of passion among the people doing the show, especially my character! Chris Bean's directed the show, and there's a long list in the Playbill of everything else he did for the show, like props, set, and costumes - all sorts of stuff! The poor guy is just desperate for the show to go well, which, of course, it doesn't. From start to finish, things are going wrong, and everybody, especially Chris, is desperate to get to the end and make it a success. They get to the end, jury is out on whether it's a success or not!

So you've played multiple roles in the show, including Jonathan Harris and Robert Grove. What has that been like?

Chris Bean is like a home base to me - that's what it feels like now. I did the first nine months of the show off-Broadway as Jonathan, and then returned after the pandemic for about a year as him, so I have probably done about 800 performances in that role. So that was my first, but I feel most comfortable in the role of Chris Bean, which is ironic, because he is the most uncomfortable man that has ever lived! When I play Jonathan or Robert, I feel like it's mostly adding context to Chris. I distinctly remember when I played Robert for the first time, I spent the first few weeks thinking, “Oh, that makes that joke for Chris Bean make more sense,” or like, “Oh, if I recontextualize this because of what I know now as Robert, then that Bean moment could be more funny.” But now that's full circle, because in every role I'm in, I'm always seeing things from a different angle and how it can improve moments in the show for others. It's like when we get to swing out of the show and watch the show, and you get to see the show from an audience perspective. For me, I have the audience perspective, then I have Chris Bean's perspective on the others. 

You mentioned that Chris is your home base. Can you go a little bit more into that?

Chris is my home base because I feel most comfortable playing that role. Jonathan may have been the first one I played, and I definitely would have considered that my home base then. But playing Jonathan while understudying Bean allowed me to sit back and observe the character while playing Jonathan - who he was and how other actors played him. And also, do the work myself in rehearsals. Because of that, I feel like it's fleshed out in a way that maybe Jonathan wasn't from a three-week rehearsal process and then getting chucked into the show. And Robert was similar, but the feeling of leaving Bean to play Robert is always uncomfortable at the beginning. It always feels like I'm wearing a costume that doesn't quite fit. I'm aware that I am maybe not the type that the role is made for, and I feel like I have to do a little more to make it work - maybe even take a step out from exactly what the directors are asking of me to make certain moments work. Whereas Chris Bean, it just feels comfortable in its uncomfortable nature. My impulses and instincts are things I'm able to follow naturally, because it feels right. Whereas Robert, I have to really think my way through until it feels comfortable. Before joining this show, I didn’t have a really good idea of what I did well as an actor, and now, after seven and a half years, I feel like the show has helped show me that. 

Do you remember what the rehearsal process was like when you first started?

I do! I was very nervous when I first showed up, because there were very seasoned and veteran actors, and I was coming off seven or eight years without being in a play. Kevin McCollum is the producer, and he's huge. Matty DiCarlo had just come off the Broadway production as a Production Stage Manager, and he was directing. Mark Evans was there as the Associate Director, and he played Chris Bean on Broadway. We also rehearsed on the set in the off-Broadway space already! The whole thing was just very intimidating to me from day one, but everyone was just so lovely and kind and generous, and it only took a few days for it to become more comfortable. 

The only problem was, as Jonathan, when I rolled off the platform for the first time and tried to catch myself, I tore my pectoral minor muscle, which plagued me throughout the whole rehearsal process, because Jonathan is such a physical track. I felt like I wasn't quite stepping up to the plate after that injury. I missed all but one of the previews as a result of this, so I missed all of the training time in front of an audience. Maybe that's why I don't describe Jonathan as my home base, because I didn't have a comfortable rehearsal process in it. I did come back for opening night, probably before I should have, but I wanted to be there opening night. I'm glad I was, and I'm glad I got those first few weeks in the show as well. 

For a more general idea of what we do in rehearsal, we start with The Murder at Haversham Manor as a fully functioning script. It's about 45 minutes long, it's terrible in itself, but it's hilarious to read things that go right that don't go right in the play. And then we go through the show incrementally, one scene after the other - very methodical. There'll be days where we just entirely focus on stunts. We take them out of the show, do them in isolation, and then we will do the next section and include those stunts in that. So it's a very methodical way through it, and then peppered into that are improv sections.  We will come back from break, and Matty DiCarlo, the director, will say, “Okay, it’s Day One of rehearsal. Chris Bean has everyone in place. He's going to introduce himself and everyone else, and we're going to start the first rehearsal that the Cornley University Drama Society has for The Murder at Havisham Manor.” The next day, we'll come back from our break, and Matty will say, “Okay, it's intermission in The Murder at Haversham Manor, go!” That helps us get to know our characters in a way that simply doing the show wouldn't. And the show was born out of improv, so adding a bit into the rehearsal process was really helpful. They let us make our own versions. I didn't ever feel any pressure to follow Henry Shields, Mark Evans, or even the guy I was covering in the role of Chris Bean. We're under no pressure to do that, so these improvs really help us black out who our characters are.

And now you've been doing it for seven and a half years. What is it like looking back on that journey?

I'm going through a lot of nostalgia at the moment, because I'm leaving. The replacement Chris Bean was shadowing me backstage, and I felt like the Grim Reaper was following me around! He's a lovely man, David McElwee, but it was the first time that I've been in that space with my replacement following behind me, so it brought out a lot of emotion in me. My character dies a few minutes from the end of the show, and I was lying there dead, thinking, “What's this going to feel like on July 12th when the last action of my character is to die and lie on the stage while the rest of the play happens?” On a normal show, I exhale. I'm like, “Okay, my hard work is finished.” But knowing that hard work is finished on July 12th is going to be really emotional for me. The show gave me a lot, and it came at the perfect time in my life.

I lost my mum. She passed away about two or three years before this, and I moved to the US. Then I had another difficult situation shortly after that, and I was reeling from it all. I didn't really know who I was, why I was in New York and not in England with my family, and what I was doing, whether I could make a success of this. And then The Play That Goes Wrong came along, and everything changed from there. What I've learned over the last seven years is I am good enough to work and do this. I've made some lifelong friends. I've been able to feel comfortable enough to start a family and buy an apartment. I have been able to have consistent health insurance and therapy, all of that stuff to better myself. I've gone on tour with the show - I've seen the country. Challenged myself to understudy for the first time, play multiple tracks, grow to be a veteran in the dressing room, and be a leader for people who are there.

One thing I learned is that playing a lead role is also a leadership role, or it can be. I've been inspired by people I work with. Sid Solomon was one of the understudies. He's an inspiring person. He's someone who cares about the people around him, and he has a very level head when everyone else around them is in chaos and disaster. I remember looking at him early on and thinking, “I want to be more like that,” and slowly figuring that out. As a performer, he covered five tracks, always seamlessly, professionally, calmly. And the show's deputy for the union as well, and I ended up doing it after him. 

I really feel like I've done a doctorate in comedy - I've seen everything that I could possibly see in this show, which is partly why I'm leaving. Nothing surprises me anymore. I've had every kind of audience. I've had jokes leave me and fail, and then I've had to learn them again and find them, make them spontaneous. I've had to find ways to keep this fresh for seven years, even though I'm playing the same role eight times a week. It means so much to me - it really does. I'll go back in a heartbeat if they need me! I'm grateful for this show.

What is it that you think has kept The Play That Goes Wrong so successful for so long?

I'm answering this question through the lens of the stage door, something that's our insight into what audiences are thinking. We hear that so often that somebody will see it and then want to bring more people. That's one huge reason why I think we are still here, because of word of mouth. We're an accessible show - people of all ages can enjoy it. Another one that I hear a lot at stagedoor is people asking me how much of the show is improvised. I'm always sad to tell them that, surprisingly, little of the show is improvised! It's very tightly choreographed, and there are a lot of details and specificity to the show. But the fact that people think it's improvised and that the audience can affect it so much and alter the course and direction of the show a little bit means that people can see it multiple times and feel like they're seeing an entirely different show, even though it's done within such tight parameters. That's a huge draw for the show. 

And, with longevity comes another appeal, which is the changing of casts and cast members, because we're allowed such freedom with the characters we create. Plugging someone new into the show can be interesting to people who enjoy the show. They can see entirely new dynamics between the cast and between the characters. Even though I've been there for seven years, when new cast members come in, my tracks change immensely, and I love that! It’s one of the reasons why this show has stayed fresh for me for so long. Plus, it's just a genuinely good, funny show. It offers different types of comedy - there's wordplay, there's physical comedy, there are so many different things that appeal to different people. And, if you don't like a joke, just wait five seconds - there'll be another one!

Do you have a favorite line from The Play That Goes Wrong?

It really fluctuates from day to day! There's a line, “You can barely even make out the trees,” after Bean opens the curtains, and there are a bunch of people behind it that he doesn't expect. That is my favorite line at the moment, because I can't get the laugh on it right now! For the last two shows, I tried something completely different, and it was there. So that's my favorite line right now, because it was so elusive. I had it, then I played Robert, and then I came back and just couldn't figure it out, and then I got it, recently. So that's my favorite line, currently. Often, my favourite beat is when we have to form a chain of hands to extend the length of a phone, so we can pass it to somebody who's across the stage. That simple extension of an arm at the end of that chain is one of my favourite moments, because of the timing. It's a mathematical timing problem that changes every night when I extend my hand, and I love it. I love doing that because it alters every single night, depending on the audience. It's great.

How would you describe The Play That Goes Wrong in one word?

Welcoming. It welcomes audiences, it welcomes new cast members, and new crew with open arms. The comedy is accessible, and New World Stages is easy to find! It's welcoming.

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