This farce about a gaffe-laden am-dram whodunit was born above a pub. How did it become one of Britain’s greatest ever exports, the toast of more than 50 countries? Our writer hits the continent to solve the mystery

A bunch of twerps are floundering in the spotlight, striving to bluff their way through disaster. The vibe is not quite keep calm and carry on, more like carry on regardless. It could be a scene from any number of recent British political calamities. But this is the premise of the deliriously funny The Play That Goes Wrong, about a hapless am-dram troupe staging a whodunnit.

Despite having its premiere in a tiny room above a London pub, there is nothing amateurish about the Olivier award-winning comedy – one of the longest-running shows currently in the West End. It spawned a franchise of “Goes Wrong” farces on stage, as well as a dazzlingly inventive TV series, and catapulted the creators, Mischief Theatre, to international glory. The play is on in Krakow, Kladno and Kyiv and has been performed in many other European cities and on Broadway. Next year it tours Australia and New Zealand.