The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society
The company is most well known for their series of "Goes Wrong" productions wherein they portray the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, struggling to perform amateur shows as they slowly fall apart. In-universe, the troupe is composed of university students who spend their free time outside of classes producing shows, though in recent years their televised work has been supported by the BBC. For non-European audiences, they are presented as the Cornley University Drama Society.
The characters are maintained across all of the company's "Goes Wrong" productions (with the exception of Magic Goes Wrong), and their personalities are fleshed out over time. Members of Mischief therefore portray their Cornley characters while also portraying the characters of whatever play they are doing in-universe.
Chris Bean (originated by Henry Shields) is Cornley's director and primary lead actor. At the helm of most of the troupe's often complicated productions, he is consistently exasperated by his fellow members and the mistakes that inevitably happen, though he is not above the occasional slip-up as well. He views his work as extremely serious and gets hot-headed when others regard it as silly and fun.
Robert Grove (originated by Henry Lewis) is Cornley's wannabe lead actor, who is frequently at odds with Chris over leading roles. He is bold and brash, believing that the key to a good performance is to simply be louder than everyone else. For a short time, he took over as director but after many mishaps, Chris was reinstated.
Dennis Tyde (originated by Jonathan Sayer) is a supporting player within the troupe, though his inability to remember his lines often means he is relegated to playing objects rather than people. The Play That Goes Wrong establishes his stage fright and embarrassment over mistakes, but in succeeding productions he has been characterized more by his extreme obliviousness instead. There have been a couple of instances where he'll recite a fellow actor's lines (and occasionally, the play script's stage directions) in perfect verbatim while still forgetting his own lines, an action that often times confuses those around him.
Sandra Wilkinson (originated by Charlie Russell) is Cornley's lead actress. Like Chris, she is a comedic foil, often getting annoyed when her fellow actors make mistakes, but is not immune to them. She has a habit of sneaking seductive looks to the audience or camera, which can undermine her previous dialogue or her character in general. Her love life with a few of her fellow actors becomes a recurring plot point across productions.
Jonathan Harris (originated by Greg Tannahill) is a supporting player within the company who often juggles several roles. He plays the lead in Peter Pan Goes Wrong, but in A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong and from then on, his bit roles are characterized by his inability to perform properly due to certain circumstances. He is involved in a few love triangles across the Goes Wrong productions.
Max Bennett (originated by Dave Hearn) is another supporting player who often gets giddily distracted by the audience's reactions. He is usually cast in supporting roles, despite being one of the troupe's best actors. Along with Dennis, he is one of the kindest and most innocent members of the troupe, most evident in subplots revolving around his ability as an actor or his love life.
Annie Twilloil (originated by Nancy Zamit) is initially introduced as Cornley's stage manager in The Play That Goes Wrong, but is eventually promoted to supporting actress in subsequent productions. Like Jonathan, she tends to juggle several roles in a single production, and often plays men as well.
Trevor Watson (originated by Rob Falconer) is Cornley's technical director who later doubles as stage manager when Annie becomes an actress. Although he works behind the scenes, he always somehow makes his presence known; he also occasionally steps up when the troupe is in need of additional actors. He was portrayed by Rob Falconer in the original run of The Play That Goes Wrong, but in many subsequent productions is played by Chris Leask.
Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carraway (originated by Bryony Corrigan) is the latest addition to the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as another female player, introduced in The Goes Wrong Show. Her work in the troupe is often characterized by being injured during productions as well as a paralyzing inability to improvise, which only makes things worse when mistakes require it of her. Prior to Vanessa's introduction, Bryony Corrigan was an understudy for The Play That Goes Wrong; she later played a stagehand in Peter Pan Goes Wrong and the BBC receptionist in A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, though it is unknown if these are all separate characters.
Lucy Grove (recurring; originated by Daisy Waterstone): Introduced in Peter Pan Goes Wrong, she is the niece of Robert Grove, and receives frequent criticism and coaching of her performances. Though originally portrayed by Daisy Waterstone, she has been played by Ellie Morris in many subsequent productions.