#mischief understudies

*As in, actors who have an equally fun but also unique flavor/take on a Cornley character(s) compared to the character's og actor/originator

If so, who are they and why?

Chris Leask didn't originate the role of Trevor (that honor goes to Rob Falconer) so I guess Leask is my favorite non-original cast member to play Trevor simply bc he is the Trevor we see in all of the televised stuff.

I got to see Matt Cavendish as Max in Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and he was a very adorable Max! Love that Matt playing Max with Charlie Russell's Sandra meant that Sandra and Max were basically the same height.

Omigod how could I forget - I got the honor to see Brenann Stacker in her Tessa Watson debut in Peter Pan Goes Wrong! Tessa is the understudy track for Trevor. She was amazing. I mean just look at her:

Also shoutout to the Off-Broadway cast of The Play That Goes Wrong - got to see that production a few years ago, and they were amazing. Chris Lanceley as Chris Bean and Trevor Braun as Dennis Tyde were particularly great, and they were all lovely at stage door :)

I haven't seen them in these roles, but I love would to see Harry Kershaw as Chris Bean, Bryony Corrigan as Sandra Wilkinson, and Niall Ransome as Dennis Tyde.

And also I would love to see this ppgw understudy cast:

From left to right: Chris Leask as Max, Brenann Stacker as Tessa, Bianca Horn as Francis, Ellie Morris as Sandra, Henry Shields as Jonathan, Harry Kershaw as Chris, and Jonathan Sayer as himself

And finally, I have no clue what the actor's name is, but I absolutely ADORE the 2021 Shanghai tptgw Trevor from this curtain call alone:

Also, I think goes wrong show season 2 is up on daily motion! Might split some episodes into a couple parts but is available ^^

Hi! Glad to hear that you had a great time at Spies! I believe that you saw the wonderful Matt Cavendish in the role of Bernard (Shields's character). Matt played Max in Peter Pan Goes Wrong on Broadway and the West End back in 2023 :) Anyway, I do not know how understudy rotations work. My best guess is that it depends on the actors taking planned time off or having something come up last minute so the understudies step up. For example, earlier today Chris Leask unexpectedly couldn't perform due to an injury and so the amazing Allie Dart learned the role in two hours and took over for him!

A way to find out if an understudy would be on would be to check out the West End Understudies social media. They give updates about which understudies will be on for various West End shows, including The Comedy About Spies, though the announcement is usually on the day of. You can find them on instagram and twitter

Otherwise, the best way to find out is to check the actors' socials to see if they will not be performing that day (the Mischief cast are mainly active on instagram I think). Sadly, this does not help with finding out about Shields's schedule since he barely posts online haha, but other actors like Nancy Zamit and Chris Leask seem pretty good about posting if they are not performing that day. The other option is to politely ask the actors themselves either at stage door or online. There is no guarantee that they will tell you but it could be worth a shot if there is a specific actor that you really want to see.

TLDR: There is no concrete way of finding out which actors will be onstage on a given day. The best options are to check the actors' and West End Understudies' socials.

Hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions :)