A Game of Greed and Gore

On Saturday 17th August, I was more than a little intrigued to attend Bispham CastAways’ latest event, a murder mystery supper evening, titled ‘A Game of Greed and Gore’.The piece was written by Susan Hope of Belladonna Mysteries and directed by Debbie Flavell.

I must admit, I was entirely unsure what to expect of the evening and arrived with an open mind! My wife accompanied me, and as the resident expert in the macabre, was keen to flex her mystery-solving muscles… When we arrived, the director very kindly explained the format of the evening for us, and it didn’t take long to realise that it was right up our street. We were assigned to a table and became a team of sleuths, along with the other audience members we were seated with (who were uniformly wonderful and welcoming!), before cracking on with a quiz sheet. From there, the evening went as follows - watch Act 1, eat a delicious supper, watch Act 2, tuck into yummy dessert, watch Act 3 and then quiz the assembled suspects before reaching a conclusion about WHODUNNIT.

‘A Game of Greed and Gore’ followed a familiar narrative path, with its characters and story being inspired by the game of ‘Cluedo’. An intricate and devilishly twisty tale was told over the course of a few hours and accusations and theories began to fly around the auditorium very quickly. The play told the story of Dr Benjamin Blacklock (Graham Wilcock), who organises an annual murder mystery weekend at his remote and palatial residence. He is joined by a varied cast of local faces, some of whom also play an online version of the popular sleuthing game. Wilcock commanded the stage with his booming voice and imposing stature, and it was his job to keep the narrative moving forward. Dr Blacklock’s housekeeper, Mrs Winnie White, was played by Avril Heywood. She was responsible for some of the more acidic lines in the piece and delivered them well. She did require the support of the prompt on a number of occasions and I could see that she was getting a little frustrated at this. However, in a piece with such a complex narrative and so much to remember, it’s easy to forgive the occasional lapse in memory! Cordy Jones played local temptress, Lacey Lemon, and gave an assured performance. She did, on occasion, succumb to the temptation to scream a little too loud for the modestly-sized auditorium, which was a touch jarring - but this would be a very simple fix in future productions. Conor James played the resident celebrity chef, Goldie Green, and did a stand-up job of portraying someone who had a sense of a secret-laden past. Nurse Beverly Brown was ably portrayed by Fern Crump, who was able to bring light and shade to the character in an impressive manner. The local magistrate, Judge Raquel Rose, was played by Angela Crossley, who was able to use her impressive and commanding voice to great effect. Her neon pink robes and accessories (right down to the sparkly pink walking stick!) were a very welcome splash of life and colour on the stage.

One of the evening’s stand-out performances was delivered by the show’s writer, Susan Hope, in the role of Detective Georgie Grey. She is a confident and natural actor, who (for good reason) had an excellent grasp of the intricacies of the script. In the role of Professor Bastian Blau, Ian Dodd delivered a nuanced performance, a consistently believable German accent and a confidence-inspiring presence on the stage. One of the most memorable characters of the evening, Madam Sarah Silver, the local psychic clairvoyant and provocateur, was brought to us by the endlessly energetic Tracy Johnson, whose performance the audience absolutely lapped up. Finally, the cast was rounded out by Katie Ashworth, who played the mysterious and clearly untrustworthy character of Mademoiselle Renee Rouge. She maintained a near-perfect French accent until the very moment it was dropped in favour of her truly Lancastrian brogue, which elicited an audible gasp from at least one audience member!

‘A Game of Greed and Gore’ was capably directed by Debbie Flavell, who had clearly worked hard to keep all of the narrative plates (of which there were many!) spinning effectively. She had supported her cast to create vibrant and distinctive characters, and whilst this wasn’t a perfect piece, it was fun, thought-provoking and a lovely way to spend an evening. At times, there was just a bit too much going on in Susan Hope’s script and my brain became hopelessly tied in knots. Many of the clues to the murderer’s identity were subtle, and some of them too subtle for the likes of me, and by the end of the play, I was about as far away from the killer’s identity as I could have been! Two teams on the evening did a far better detective job than I did,however, and correctly identified the culprit in the string of murders we witnessed on stage - to rapturous applause from their fellow sleuths.

The set, props and costumes were created as a team effort by the CastAways, and really helped to set the scene well. The set itself was simple yet effective, and gave the cast a visually engaging space in which to explore the narrative. Technical duties were undertaken by the team of Ian Fleetwood, Cordy Jones and Alan Westhead, who provided a near-seamless experience for the audience. Carol Crump undertook the role of prompt on the evening and whilst she might have had a busier night than she anticipated, she performed the role with razor sharp accuracy and professionalism. Our compere for the evening was John Flavell, who carried out his duties with good humour and a steady hand, even if he did accidentally name the murderer a few seconds before the actual big reveal!

Finally, a special mention must go to the staff of the Carousel Diner in Cleveleys, who provided the absolutely delicious hotpot supper that we all enjoyed.

Huge thanks to the Bispham Castaways for the invitation to ‘A Game of Greed and Gore’, and the wonderful hospitality. I look forward to my return immensely.

 

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