Blue Murder at Bluestone Manor

Staging a murder mystery where the audience are involved and get to guess the murderer is a great theatrical device and Newick have done well in making the most of this. They have created a really lovely atmosphere around the audience where everyone feels welcome, they have invited people to bring a picnic for the interval as well as the invitation to dress in 1920s chic if they wish, which many did. On top of that, between the second and third acts they have set a Charleston dance competition, inviting anyone who wants to go to the front, showing them some steps to some music, and then awarding prizes. It’s all a marvellous addition and puts a little extra sparkle on a lovely evening.

People are allocated tables of eight, so you are able to talk with the people on your table to discuss questions of “who dunnit”. The information on the tables is the outline of the evening plus a cast list, and there is a section for you to ask questions of the suspects as they wait patiently on the stage. It’s all beautifully organised, making us all feel relaxed and in safe hands.

The script is a good one, with some funny jokes and lovely wordplay, especially when the Inspector gets his words muddled up: there is also a section on the names of the guests which results in confusion: the maid called Tia Maria, the secretary called Anna Conda – and so on. These could be groan funny but they are actually really funny, which is no mean feat. Jo Andrews as the Inspector has confidence and ease in the way he portrays the hapless Policeman. This kind of production is always overstated and exaggerated in style, rightly so, due to the nature of the interactive play, so the expectations around performance are different here.

Nick Parnell, also directing, plays a fun and blustery stereotype country gentleman, born into money and yet in debt. Olive Cooke has a lovely presence as Henrietta Soufflé the Cook. Claire Carter is especially watchable as the Maid Tia Maria, always being present on the stage with what’s going on, reacting in between speaking. She is a joy to watch. Given the style of production, all the actors do really well in their roles; playing them slightly larger than life, which is what’s called for.

The space on the stage is used really well, and the set is lovely and well thought out. It’s also dressed really well, with ornaments on shelves, and fancy cakes on the cake stand. The costumes work really well, and the gorgeous vintage style dresses worn by Carol Hart as Dotty and Flo Wolfe-Jones as Ivana Foxtrot reflect their status in the play which is lovely. The servants are dressed completely appropriately too, and Freddie’s trousers ending at the knee are a particularly nice touch.

The plank faint that Brenda Williams does from the sofa to the floor as Anna Conda reacting to the murderous news is absolutely hilarious. A special note needs to be made for the use of music in the production in various appropriate places, which adds so much humour: the theme from Downton Abbey, the theme from Black Beauty, and on the Inspector’s entrance the theme from the Pink Panther. This is a really lovely evening’s entertainment which got the “little grey cells” churning trying to work it out, while talking to new friends over a picnic and having a laugh at a Charleston dance. Congratulations to everyone involved on an inventive and thoroughly enjoyable evening.

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