A Murder is Announced

The set was lovely where the action took place in the drawing room of a Victorian house in a small English village. Attention to detail was very good and props suited the period the play was set. The costumes suited each character well but the wigs were not at all realistic or flattering. In my opinion it would have been better to style some of the players own hair to suit the period. The lighting and sound were very good and projection of voices by the actors was perfect.

The blocking, entrances and exits were well put together by the Director Vanessa Randall who also cast the piece very well in the main. I know one of the actors had been very poorly in the run up to the show and the first night had to be cancelled because of this so the show going on at all was a feat in itself. This was a one set piece so there were no hold ups in change of scenes.

There were 12 parts and 11 actors in total who all put in nice performances but I will confirm my thoughts on the principle roles.

Jane Pearson was super as Letitia Blacklock with a nice plumy accent and clear diction. Her portrayal as the lady of the house caught up in a newspaper announcement about a murder was very commanding.

Vicky Palin looked the part but lacked charisma in her role as Julia Simmons and although her lines were perfect in delivery there was little acting of the role. Sue Pecheur as Dora Bunner had the opposite problem with great acting of the role but had to take a few prompts for forgotten lines.

Patrick Simmons was well played by Martin Taylor as the antagonist in many of the scenes. Again delivery and projection were perfectly delivered. Judie Krebs as Mitzi was very funny (initially I felt it was a very caricature performance) but this worked for the character who grew on me with every entrance on the stage.

Pat Smithies made a good Miss Marple who of course solves the mystery. Her portrayal was quite quiet and unassuming but it was clear she was taking everything in and this was well communicated by Pat who was never out of character.

Jenny Taylor as Phillppa Haymes put in a really nice portrayal with lovely clear diction and projection of voice. Susan Longley as Clara Swettenham was great in her portrayal of the nosy neighbour with commitment to the part and nice interaction with her fellow actors. Jay Darlington as her son Edmund Swettenham was good in his role as the stuffy writer and I understand he has not been on stage for many years so well done for treading the boards again. Dom Pastore had a couple of small scenes which he played with conviction and well done to David Gordon who played Inspector Craddock despite being very ill earlier in the week. He covered the loss of remembering lines well especially in the first Act where he could look as though he was writing in his notebook and totally epitomes the adage of the show must go on! He suited the role well and gave the impression of a commanding British Police Inspector.

Overall this was a very well presented play with lots of really good characterisations and direction from Vanessa Randall. We had a lovely evening trying to work out “whodunit” and look forward to seeing you all again.

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