MISCHIEF, the team behind the multi award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, rewrite ancient history with their first musical comedy, THESPIANS, which will embark on UK tour next year. The musial features a book and lyrics by Jonathan Sayer and music and lyrics by Ed Zanders.
534 BC. Greece’s smallest island is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant – where the loser is put to death. All is going dreadfully until Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world’s first play and the origins of theatre as we know it!
Step into the amphitheatre, leave your troubles in the foyer, and escape into Ancient Greece as it bursts into song, with a thrilling plot, a love story worthy of Aphrodite, and enough laughter to fill the Acropolis. THESPIANS is an uplifting, hilarious, and timely reminder of the power of empathy and stepping into someone else’s sandals.
The tour will kick off at Mercury Theatre in Colchester on Saturday 9 May 2026.
Tour Dates
COLCHESTER – Mercury Theatre
Sat 9 – Sat 23 May
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
BATH – Theatre Royal
Tue 26 – Sat 30 May
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
SWINDON – Wyvern Theatre
Tue 2 – Sat 6 June
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
GUILDFORD – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Tue 9 – Sat 13 June
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
CHELTENHAM – Everyman Theatre
Tue 16 – Sat 20 June
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
CARDIFF – New Theatre
Tue 23 – Sat 27 June
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
MANCHESTER – HOME
Tue 7 – Sat 18 July
On sale Fri 31 Oct, 10am
About Mischief
Mischief Theatre is a British theatre company that was founded in 2008 by a group of students from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London, and directed by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. The group originally began by doing improvised comedy shows, but by 2012, they expanded into comedic theatrical performances that include choreographed routines, jokes, and stunts.
The company is primarily known for their comedic performances as the fictional theatre company, The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, enacting amateur performances that go wrong. Works by the company includes the award-winning 2012 stage play The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC television series The Goes Wrong Show.
Other productions created by the company include Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, Lights! Camera! Improvise! and Mischief Movie Night, Groan Ups, Magic Goes Wrong, The Comedy About Spies, and Christmas Carol Goes Wrong.
