Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders

I have never been to Minstead Village Hall before and wasn’t sure what I would expect on my arrival. I was met and greeted by some very nice people, who thoroughly looked after me throughout the evening.

I had heard of playwright Derek Webb before but have never witnessed any of his offerings in the past. This was looking like a great evening ahead, but I have to say, it fell short, both on script content and production.

The script was a little on the dire side to say the least. It was very haphazard in the way it seemed to be written.

The production itself was marred by two or three cast members not really knowing what they were supposed to say or how to react. They were very tentative right the way through. They also slowed the whole proceedings down in a script that really needed pace for it to have a chance of working.

But the show wasn’t like that all the way through, there were some very good characterisations throughout, and some great acting from some of the cast. I will just mention a few of the cast members that I feel played their parts well.

Rae Tugwell was very good as Harry Knott and made the role look so realistic that I thought he was the real thing.

Liz Parrington as Isabella Battersby was also very convincing in her role and looked as though she was enjoying every minute of it.

Alistair Banks played the dual role of Oliver Truscott Pratt and his sister Olivia. He played both roles flourishingly, although I would go as far as saying he played the ‘shooting’ mad Oliver much better.

Alistair Chisholm took the role of Detective Inspector Twigg by the horns and gave a solid performance.

My favourite was Mandy the cleaner, who was played admirably by Pip Vardy. I enjoyed her performances throughout the play and always looked forward to her next entrance.

The whole show was well directed by Helen Bennett, although I felt the show could have done with a few more rehearsals. The lighting worked very well for this production, thanks to Mike Hutton, and sound from Andy Chatwin and Colin Love was ideal for the venue. The wardrobe team of Eileen Porter and Pauline Roberts made a nice contribution to the setting.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.