There’s always time for a cuppa and a chat! That’s the motto of award-winning comedy creators Mischief who teamed up with Central London Samaritans this week for Brew Monday (a play on Blue Monday, traditionally the most depressing day of the year) encouraging people to have a cuppa and a catch-up with those they care about.

As Barnaby Hopson from the Samaritans told us, “At Samaritans we say Blue Monday is a myth so we’re turning into Brew Monday. It’s all about recognising that we all have bad days and one way to get around it is to talk… if you’re sitting down and listening, you’re doing it right.”

So where does Mischief come in? The company will be fundraising at their hit comedy shows The Play That Goes Wrong and Magic Goes Wrong as well as thanking and celebrating Samaritans volunteers across London by inviting over 400 volunteers to see their West End shows in January.

“Giving back is something that’s really important to us,” said Mischief member Charlie Russell, “We wanted to celebrate the volunteers at the Samaritans because of the incredible work that they do, particularly throughout the pandemic when people really needed someone to talk to. They managed to keep their services going throughout lockdown, they’re always giving so they deserve to be able to laugh at those shows.”

Volunteers like Alastair Wallace couldn’t be happier, “I’m very excited, I’m going this week. It’s a great collaboration and we’re really happy that Mischief chose us.”  It also feeds into the wider tradition of Soho as a community happy to get behind initiatives that benefit the area and its people. “Soho is such a wonderful community to be part of; we get – and offer – support for all sorts of different directives, such as food drops for the homeless.”

On a roll here, Mischief will be making a top movie episode available from their highly successful improvised online movie series Mischief Movie Night In. It will be re-streamed as a fundraiser for a mere £7.50, available on-demand throughout January. 

Finally there’s the tried-and-trusted-time-honoured tradition of rattling a can at your audience in the theatre itself.  Company Jonathan Sayer shared, “We’ve always done bucket collections at the Play that Goes Wrong so for today and the next couple of weeks it’s all about the Samaritans!”

So if you’re looking to beat the doom and gloom of January, support a very worthy cause, champion the West End and have a good laugh all at the same time – check out the how and where on the Mischief website at theplaythatgoeswrong.com.  We will beat those winter blues!

Written by Gillian Smith @gillianasmith_. Photos by Danny Kaan @Danny_with_a_Camera

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