ACTOR Adam Dunn is in prime position during The Play That Goes Wrong to hear people’s “secret laughs” as he sits in the auditorium playing the role of lighting and sound operator Trevor.
“There are different types of laughs; you get snorters, you get guffaws, you get people who shriek,” Dunn said.
“It’s one of those productions where you can’t hold back and it’s going to come out whether you like it or not. And where I sit in my box, I get to see everyone lose it.”
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READ NOWThe unashamedly slapstick West End comedy is on a six-month Australian tour with a mainly Australian cast presenting the play within a play as Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society deliver The Murder at Haversham Manor.
Dunn, familiar to audiences for his television commercial work, said Trevor, a huge Duran Duran fan, was like a grizzly bear: solitary and not wanting to hang out with other people.
“I got a lot of working space with Trevor because they made him Australian, whereas the Trevor in the English cast is English and actually goes to Cornley Polytechnic,” he said.
“We thought if Cornley Polytechnic came to Australia they would just hire a local guy. So my backstory is that I saw an ad in the newspaper for a sound and lighting tech and thought The Murder at Haversham Manor was a dance party.
“Trevor thought it was a rave and Cornley Polytechnic was a techno dubstep band, so he went along to do a lighting show for them and then found out it was a play and hung around, but isn’t a big fan of the actors.”
Dunn said it was amazing how much in The Play That Goes Wrong had to go right for it to go wrong.
“We do our best to ensure it’s all controlled mayhem,” he said.
“It’s a relentless rollercoaster and I think one of the great things is that it doesn’t give you time to take a breath.
“You can just go in, enjoy it and walk out with a smile on your face; what a medicine that is.
“It’s such an endorphin-releasing show and I quite like that. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a role more than when I saw the show.”
THE ESSENTIALS
What: The Play That Goes Wrong
Where: His Majesty’s Theatre
When: May 31 to June 11
Tickets: www.ticketek.com.au
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