On 30 August 2026, I went to see the Comedy About Spies matinée at the Adelphi Theatre!
Several other members of the Goes Wrong fandom were attending the same performance, so I met up with a few of them for a meal before the show! Two people told me that they previously hadn't much liked Robert, but my fanfiction had helped them like him. I was absolutely thrilled to hear I'd helped to bolster Robert's popularity within the Goes Wrong fandom. No higher praise.
We took our seats before the show; I was sitting with a fellow Goes Wrong fan. The stage had a silhouetted backdrop of the London skyline. My companion suddenly pressed a hand over their face and started laughing.
Companion: Not me seeing Big Ben and thinking, Oh, it's that thing from Peter Pan.
Riona: I suppose you're not wrong!
Henry Lewis was very handsome and his hair looked great. That alone could have carried me very happily through a couple of hours, but, as a bonus, The Comedy About Spies is a very fun, very slick play, with great performances all around and a lot of ambitious physicality. I really enjoyed myself. What a lovingly done, absolutely committed performance of farce.
I was delighted by the fact that Henry Lewis, Robert's actor in The Goes Wrong Show, was essentially playing Robert again here; his character, Douglas Woodbead, was an overconfident, determined, loud, oblivious, ridiculous actor. What a great surprise!
Unfortunately, on account of my Robert Grove problem, my notes have ended up slightly too Woodbead-focused, but I should mention that the characters were strongly drawn all around, with some great use of multiple straight man/funny man duos.
Great; that sounds halfway like actual theatre commentary. Let's see if I can keep up this level of intelligence. What's the next thing in my notes?
The trouble with having all the hotel rooms visible at all times is that I am expected to pay attention to plot developments while Douglas Woodbead is undressing elsewhere on the set.
I could not keep up that level of intelligence. I'm sorry, everyone.
A couple of fellow theatre-goers struck up conversation with me in the interval, which was fun! I wrote the address of this website on a scrap of paper and handed it to one of them. If you see this, hi; it was nice to meet you!
Henry Lewis really has 'opening a door into someone's face' down to a fine art.
The play has a recurring theme of Lance and his mother Janet thinking that Woodbead is angling for a threesome with them, which I very much enjoyed. Eventually, when it becomes clear that no threesome is in the offing:
Janet: You owe me a threesome!
Woodbead: (with great gravitas) I don't do those any more.
I like to think this is because Woodbead once had a car crash of a threesome with Robert Grove and Chris Bean. ("But, Riona, it's 1961" – shh shh shhhhh.)
Before the play, one of the fandom people I met said she hoped it would inspire me to write fanfiction. I'm not sure whether this is the sort of inspiration she was hoping for, but it's what I've got.
And then, emboldened by being in the company of another Mischief fan, I went to the stage door! I've never met actors at the stage door before, and I was slightly nervous, but it was a really good experience overall. My companion was increasingly vibrating with excitement after every person we met, which was a delight to see.
I'd brought my Christmas Carol Goes Wrong script along, just so I had something that could potentially be signed. I wasn't sure until the last moment whether I'd actually ask for autographs; I knew I wanted to ask the actors whether they were willing to be hugged, and I thought that requesting autographs on top of that might be too much! But, when Greg came out with his own pen poised and ready, it immediately became clear that the actors were very relaxed about autographing things, so I did indeed get signatures in the end.
The actors to whom I spoke, more or less in order:
Greg Tannahill: Jonathan in The Goes Wrong Show, and Tipton in The Comedy About Spies.
Tannahill's character had played a number of instruments onstage, including a cello and a saxophone. "I have to know: can you really play all those instruments?" I asked.
"Yes, of course, can't you tell?" he replied instantly, before laughing. "No, not at all."
He agreed very warmly to give me a hug, which helped to ease my nerves about asking people! I knew from hearing stage door stories from others that hugs were sometimes on the table, but I wasn't sure how common that was.
Bryony Corrigan: Vanessa in The Goes Wrong Show, and Elena in The Comedy About Spies.
I asked if it was rude to ask her to sign a script for a play she wasn't in, but she happily signed my copy of Christmas Carol Goes Wrong!
I commented that it'd be great to see Vanessa in a stage play one day, given that all the existing theatre-based Goes Wrong productions were set before Vanessa joined the drama society. Corrigan said she didn't know whether she'd get to play Vanessa in a Goes Wrong stage production, but she'd love to. Apparently at one point there was discussion of her playing Annie in the LA run of Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, which would have been interesting to see.
Very sweet when I asked her for a hug! "It was lovely to meet you," she said.
Adele James: the sole actor I met who didn't have a Goes Wrong role, but she did a fantastic job as Rosemary in The Comedy About Spies!
"You were fantastic," I said. "It seems like it must be hard to play the serious character at the centre of a comedic play."
She smiled broadly. "Yeah, it really is, because everything happening around you is so stupid."
I produced my Christmas Carol Goes Wrong script. "You weren't in Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, but would you be willing to sign the script as a mark of how much better it would be if you were in it?"
"Yes, absolutely." She signed. "Don't tell the others."
James was also very sweet about being asked for a hug! I didn't know her prior to seeing the play, but I really loved meeting her.
Chris Leask: Trevor in The Goes Wrong Show, and Sergei in The Comedy About Spies.
"It was nice to see you having more than the two seconds of stage time you get in most Goes Wrong stuff," I said.
"I know, right?" he asked. "They finally put me in."
I asked if he'd be all right with a hug.
"Yeah, of course!" He hugged me. "Thank you for coming; you were such a great audience."
"You had the harder job," I pointed out.
He nodded. "Yeah, sweaty work."
Henry Shields: Chris in The Goes Wrong Show, Bernard in The Comedy About Spies, and one of the writers of both shows.
"What a fantastic show!" I said. "Your character was very endearing. It was really interesting to see you playing someone so different from Chris Bean."
"Someone who isn't horrible," Shields commented.
"Well, I—" I cut myself off. "I was going to say that I really like Chris, but then I remembered my favourite is Robert, so I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean he's not horrible."
I didn't catch exactly what Shields said in response, but I'm told he commented that Bernard was actually much closer to his natural casting than Chris. Which makes sense! Shields feels so different from Chris Bean – so much more casual and relaxed – that it's slightly surreal to speak to him; his body language is instantly different in every way.
I don't think Shields entirely processed what I'd said when I asked, "Would it be all right if I hugged you?" – his initial response was an absent "Mm, yes, that's right" – but he caught on a moment later and was willing to give me a hug. (I would not attempt to hug Chris Bean, but the mental image of his face if I asked is very funny.)
Nancy Zamit: Annie in The Goes Wrong Show, and Janet in The Comedy About Spies.
"What a character!" I exclaimed. "I think you stole every scene you were in."
She was very sweet and smiley in response, and was also willing to give me a hug!
Henry Lewis: Robert in The Goes Wrong Show, Woodbead in The Comedy About Spies, and one of the writers of both shows.
This, inevitably, is where I embarrass myself slightly. I told Henry Lewis it was a fantastic show, then blurted out, "I wanted to thank you for bringing Robert Grove to life; he's one of my favourite characters of all time. Easily top five. He's so funny and so compelling, and you can imagine my delight when you turned out to basically be playing him in this show."
He smiled and said, "I'm glad you enjoyed the show," which was a gracious response to my starstruck babbling. (And to the comment about Robert and Woodbead being so similar, which, in retrospect, may have been a little rude! I'm very sorry, Lewis. I didn't mean to slight your range; I was just really excited to see parallels to a character I loved so much.)
Lewis politely explained that he doesn't do hugs when I asked, which is very fair – he's one of the biggest stars in the cast, meaning people (e.g. me) are more likely to be weird about him and he probably has to hold them slightly at arm's length – but I did get a handshake! I felt a little bad for putting him in the position of having to turn me down, but I suppose it must happen a lot, so I'm at least unlikely to be remembered as particularly presumptuous.
I was slightly concerned, when considering the prospect of going to the stage door, that I might make Henry Lewis embarrassed or uncomfortable. Henry Lewis is, of course, a real person, and is not to be confused with Robert Grove, the character he plays. I know Robert Grove; I've analysed him at slightly worrying length! I don't know Henry Lewis, and he certainly doesn't know me. But he brought Robert Grove into existence, and they do have an uncanny physical resemblance, so I worried that my love of the character might lead me to be too weird or imposing.
In the event, I suppose it could have gone worse? I think I made things slightly awkward, but in a quickly-forgettable way, I hope. I don't think Henry Lewis went home that day feeling disturbed or uncomfortable, at least on my account. Unless he discovered my website, in which case: sorry.
(In case anyone reading is planning to go to the stage door themselves, and is wondering what requests are appropriate to make of Lewis: I obviously wouldn't recommend requesting a hug! Although I mention shaking his hand here, I'd probably also advise against asking for a handshake under normal circumstances; I think I suggested the handshake and he accepted it because we were both thinking 'oh, no, the declined hug makes things a little awkward; maybe replacing it with something else rather than just going "OKAY BYE" will smooth things over.' He's happy to sign things, and I believe he's willing to take photographs with people, although I wasn't asking for photographs myself; that would definitely have felt like too much on top of the hug request!)
I didn't meet Niall Ransome and Allie Dart, sadly! (Ransome was playing the role of Lance, covering for Dave Hearn; Dart played multiple ensemble roles.) Because the person ahead of me in the queue was busy speaking to Chris Leask when Ransome and Dart reached that point, they skipped that person and me, presumably leaving me clear as Leask would need to talk to me next. Ransome said he'd come back, and I assumed Dart would as well, but in the end I think it must (understandably!) have slipped their minds. (That or the queue was so long they're still stuck signing things to this day; there were a lot of people there!)
Everyone was polite and friendly, but I was struck by the fact that several of the actors became noticeably warmer after I asked if they'd be up for a hug. Because a hug is a friendly gesture that naturally makes people feel more friendly? Because the request made them realise 'oh, she must really like our work'? Someone should do a scientific study on this.
Have there been any scientific studies on stage door behaviour? It's such an odd, unique interaction. Speaking to the actors who've created things I love was strange enough for me; it must be much more surreal from the perspective of the actors who, after every performance, go out and make brief conversation with thirty strangers who sometimes know them slightly too well.
While I was writing all this, I got a kind comment on one of my works of fanfiction, and it suddenly occurred to me that, in their own way, comments on fanfiction or art or any other creation are the stage door of the Internet. I worried about imposing on the actors, but I wonder if some of them are just as excited to talk to their audience as I am to hear from people who've read my writing or enjoyed my websites.
When I got home, I told my housemates (who enjoy the Goes Wrong Show) that I'd shaken Henry Lewis's hand, and that I'd hugged the actors of Vanessa, Annie, Chris and Trevor.
I wandered out of the room, and then paused. Something didn't feel right. I flipped my Christmas Carol Goes Wrong script open and double-checked the signatures.
I poked my head back into the room. "I've just realised that, appropriately enough, I forgot that I also hugged Jonathan's actor."
I feel bad about it. I'm sorry, Greg! You were so nice!