A Murder is Announced

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie was performed this evening by St Vincent’s Dramatic Society in Over Hulton, Bolton.  Due to a holiday, I was asked to step in to review this play.  A Murder is Announced was written in 1950 and is set around the same time period.  I love going along to small societies to see their productions as they are the backbone of amateur theatre.  Sometimes you can find a jewel or an idea that is inspiring.  St Vincent’s are a small society that have been going for 23 years.  They have a great little space at the Parish Centre and it’s clear to see that they have a good following from their audience.

This play was directed by Howard Clare.  Direction, in general, was good.  All direction was sympathetic to the script, plot and the audience.  Howard set the play in the time period that it was written.  All actors were aware of their entrances and exits and there was an overall good pace to this play. 

The set was brilliant.  For such a small society, it was great to see what a great set they can produce.  The set was used brilliantly throughout this play and it was visually great too.  Well done to Bert Halliday and Owen Riley.

The costumes were equally great.  They reflected the time period and were sympathetic to the characters and era.  If I was to be a little picky – there were slight issues with jewellery and make-up from some characters.  Some actors had their own personal jewellery on (including ear piercings) that were not in-keeping with the time period.  This is true of the make-up of the character of Phillipa.  Contouring was not around in the 1950’s nor was such heavy make-up worn by well-to-do people in that era.

Lighting was very limited due to the size of the hall, but it was generally good.  All actors were lit at all times and lighting cues were well actioned.  Sound was generally good.  I was in the front row, so I could hear all actors clearly.  There were no cast mics, only stage mics but this was not an issue due to the size of the venue.  I liked how the music during scene changes were reflective of the time period.

Miss Blacklock was played by Margaret Parkinson.  Margaret did well to convey the prim and proper Miss Blacklock.  She had a good stage presence and carried herself well on stage.  Margaret had a lot of dialogue and did very well to tell the story.

Inspector Craddock was played by Keith Hindley.  I liked Keith’s version of this character.  It reminded me a little of Inspector Clouseau.  Whilst Keith forgot lines and had to be prompted, I could tell that he is a confident actor and he was very easy to watch.  He too had a lot of dialogue and did well to move the story along.  Keith had great pace and a good rapport with the other actors.

Mitizi was brilliantly played by Debbie Eustace.  Debbie was excellent in every scene and, for me, was the star of the show.  The audience and I were laughing along to the humour that Debbie found with her character.  Her Hungarian accent was brilliant, and she lit up every scene she was in.  Well Done Debbie!

Mrs Sweetenham was played by Catherine Henderson.  Catherine did well to convey the nosy neighbour of Miss Blacklock.  I could tell that Catherine was comfortable onstage and she had a good rapport with other actors, particularly her son Edmund.

There are far too many other actors to mention by name in the review.  I am not mentioning anyone else by name as I didn’t feel that they were comfortable onstage or engaging as a character.  Whilst I realise that this is amateur theatre, this is not an excuse for basic character building and storytelling.  There was too much acting and not enough being in character.  There were far too many times that actors forgot lines and had to be prompted and too many times that characters called each other by the wrong name.  Whilst I appreciate that there is a lot of dialogue in this play, it just felt that it needed a few weeks more rehearsal time or a workshop in character building.  I am being slightly harsh here as the audience enjoyed the play very much but at times I could feel the atmosphere change, particularly during the ‘reveal’ scene between Miss Marple and Dora Bunner, when both actors stumbled for the dialogue.  Despite this, there is a lot of love for this society and I certainly wish them well for the future.  If you play something with truth and honesty to both your character and the intention of the scene then you cannot go too far wrong. 

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