A Murder Mystery at the Murder Mystery

What a great evening we had last week.  Not only was the play fun and very well performed, with lots of individual characters, the food was equally excellent.  We were treated to canapés on arrival and Field Place had provided a well stocked bar.  The play described as a ‘Murder Mystery’ was highly amusing and the perfect vehicle for these very talented actors. Act One started at 7.30 with everyone sitting at tables, armed with drinks, already in the mood to enjoy themselves.  They were not disappointed.  In the play within a play, Pam Stringer, a diva actress showed all the characteristics of a thoroughly spoilt personality who expects to get her own way. Emma Godden, Peter Woodman and Kim Logan had been cast as mother, father and daughter, the first being sensible and quick witted, father as a thwarted director who new exactly how it should all be done and the later as a wildly excited new comer to the stage with a great lisp.  Add to this Malcolm Stuart who spent most of act one lying on the floor asleep giving a remarkable performance as a dead body, Zoe Green as the stage manager who obviously had a yen to act and Andre Dore as the ‘out of control’ director of this odd assorted cast and you already have the makings of an excellent farce.  I think my two favourites of the main principals must be Natalie Steele (The Maid) who grossly overacted at all times and got away with it gloriously and Debs Ravera (the accompanist) with her key board, outrageous costume and totally crazy behaviour. During our excellent main course we were expected to decide which of these fascinating characters had performed the many murders that had taken place.  The cast was very well supported by five other performers, all very different in every respect and all ending up dead.  Act two gave all the cast members a chance to build on their characteristics especially Stuart who having spent act one asleep, gave an outstanding portrayal of a drunk.  Next we were served with an excellent dessert after which we found out the murderer and why.  My lasting memory of this show will be the incredible ability of the murdered corpses to lay or sit completely still without a single twitch for enormous lengths of time.  Well done Abbejo.  What a great piece of directing.  We all left with jaws that ached from too much smiling and a great deal of laughter.

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