TAMESIDE has a bona fide theatrical genius in its midst. Jonathan Sayer, born in Ashton-under-Lyne, co-founded Mischief Theatre — a comedy juggernaut with numerous hits in both the West End and on Broadway.
The Play That Goes Wrong, which he co-wrote with Henry Shields and Henry Lewis, has been running successfully in the West End for eleven years.
The three of them met at London’s Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and have never looked back. The two Henrys are southerners, but Jonathan is very much a northerner.
In addition to his obvious love of theatre, he is co-owner and joint chairman of Ashton United Football Club and wrote a book about his experiences in non-league football called Nowhere to Run. It’s truly hilarious — as you’d expect — and had me laughing out loud while reading it.
His grandad, Johnny Burke, played a record 410 times for Ashton United, so the club runs in the family; his father, David Burke, is the other joint chairman.
Jonathan’s real talent, though, is theatre. You’ll be able to see his latest creation — in which he also appears on stage as Dennis — at Salford’s Lowry Theatre next week, though tickets are selling fast.
Christmas Carol Goes Wrong begins its UK tour in the North West before a two-month residency in the West End at London’s Apollo Theatre. I recently chatted to Jonathan about this latest show, and we agreed that The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Ryan Reynolds film Spirited were the funniest takes on the Dickens classic so far — but I have no doubt Mischief’s latest show will be hilarious too.
I asked Jonathan whether performing close to where he grew up in Tameside, near his beloved Ashton United, would be special for him. He said:
“I love doing shows back home. As I’m talking to you now, I’m overlooking the Lowry and there are banners celebrating 27 years of art, which is fantastic. I remember being a boy when that place opened and thinking it was such a cool thing to have. The multiple spaces there are great. To be doing a week and a half in the main space is just the coolest thing to me, and I can’t wait.
I’m very proud of the show. We’ve had a really good time rehearsing and creating it. It’s a very collaborative experience. We write it, then during the read-through we hear what’s working and what isn’t. We change and alter things, and usually before rehearsals begin we do a workshop where we have the whole team together and deconstruct it before performing in front of small audiences to get feedback.
It takes about five weeks to get to the stage where we’re happy with it. We tend not to ‘lock’ our shows like others do — we leave room for changes because the audience is a character we respond to.
The really nice thing about this production is that our complex sets are built by a company called Splinter Scenery, based in Oldham/Ashton-under-Lyne, so everything you see on stage is being built just around the corner from where I was born.”
Jonathan also revealed to me — exclusively — that his ever-creative mind is already working on his next project, a musical titled Thespians: Greece the Musical (But Not That One), which will run at HOME Manchester from 7th to 18th July 2026.
He told me:
“It’s all about Thespis, who was the first ever actor. It’s basically the story of him stumbling on the idea of pretending to be other people. I’ve written it with my friend Ed Zanders, and it’s being supported by Mischief. There are some brilliant songs in it. I just wanted to try something a bit different. I’ve written the book and some of the lyrics, but Ed has written all the music. He’s a brilliant songwriter. Musicals just fit my style — the way jokes and songs build. It’s been great to explore comedy through music.”
Personally, I can’t wait to see Jonathan’s first musical — but first, it’s off to the Lowry to see Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. Isn’t it wonderful to have a theatrical genius among us here in the North West? You can hear the full interview with Jonathan on my radio show Break-a-Leg, and don’t forget to join my Break-a-Leg Facebook page!
Tickets: CHRISTMAS CAROL GOES WRONG – Lowry 2nd November to 8th November 2025