AGATHA CRUSTY AND THE VILLAGE HALL MURDERS

What an entertaining production, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The humour was definitely brought out in what could have been a gory tale, with five murders on stage, and dramas off stage as well!  Considering that two actors had to be replaced due to illness – one within two days of opening night - the flow and interaction between the cast was excellent, if I hadn’t known I would not have guessed – so well done to you all.

The set was an echo of a typical village hall, good set dressing and the use of the chairs etc was well organised.  I loved the collapsing table….it gave the opening scene a ‘sit up and pay attention’ moment!  I thought the music chosen was very on point and added to the ambience of the production, with suitable lighting, and sound effects, whilst the cast projected well so everything was heard.

Costumes were good – and showed how the addition of a cardigan, scarf or other accessories changed the look of a person, without taking ages for costume changes, so again well thought out.  The only thing that stood out as perhaps not quite right, was the Inspector with his shirt out and a tie under a raincoat – very incongruous, and not the archetypical type of wear for a policeman, if he was going to be casual, then for me, I would have ditched the tie and raincoat and worn a casual jacket of some sort, it didn’t create a consistent feel for the part.

The stand out fact was that Marlon Gill took over two parts – Harry Knott and PC Lockett – within two days of opening night, and created two different personas, both of which were excellent – and knew all the words – I could only admire his commitment and experience in bringing the characters to life.

Also a late entry was Alistair Brown, who took over the part of Reverend Toby Bishop at short notice, and really made it his own.  The soft talking vicar with a hint at his more racy side!  Very well done.

Christine Rayment played Agatha Crusty with a very down to earth persona – the oasis of calm within the mayhem – a very telling characterisation.

Camilla Alexander-White played Agatha’s cousin Alice Fogg with energy and enthusiasm – nicely achieved.

Clare Tozer-Roodt played the duel roles of Olivia Truscott-Pratt and her brother Oliver – both upper-class country squire types, but enough differences to differentiate between male and female, great fun, and again a good contrast to the other cast members.

Sarah Wilkinson was the redoubtable Eleanor Wagstaff – very self-important, but crumpling when the vicar showed her attention, with the hint of a deeper relationship between them – very good.

Adam Butcher created the incompetent Detective Inspector Twigg beautifully, some great comic timing between him and the rest of the cast – I always enjoy Adam’s approach to a part.

Good to see Fiona Whiteside on stage again in the part of Maisie, a taciturn cleaner, who proves to be anything but what other people see her as.  Very well done.

Sue Jones played Isabella Battersby, a country lady, who died very nicely on stage, a lovely performance of a rather regal lady.

Carly Shotbolt played Mandy, the life model for the art class, a small but fun part to play, which she made the most of.  I enjoyed her foray into taking a part in the pantomime to cover for the missing murdered characters!!

Overall a good production, with plenty of humour for such a grisly tale.  My thanks to the Director for hosting us and providing the background to the production.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening, and so good to know that the cast played to sell-out houses.

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