Caramba's Revenge

I do enjoy my visits to Lancing Repertory Players productions. Their plays are always interesting and the murder mysteries are my favourites.   This one was no exception although the word ‘mystery’ is a bit of a misnomer. Four elderly ladies, Lottie (Linsay Oliver), Doris (Annette Armstrong), Marge (Kellie Aylward) and Violet, tired of living alone, decide to set up home together for companionship and to save money. Lottie was rather bossy and certainly the organiser of the group who spent much of her time writing a novel. Doris had a drink problem so spent most of the day in a slightly alcoholic state of bliss swaying from one room to another.  Marge controlled the kitchen organising the meals but being arthritic liked to sit and knit and talked about swimming and planning keep fit activities.  Violet on the other hand seemed to be keen on holidays and was in fact away when the play opened. All the ladies gave good performances, maintained their own personalities and different characters. Ronnie (Billie Poulton) Violets granddaughter arrived for an unexpected visit throwing a spanner in the works for the ladies. She gave a strong performance throughout especially so when chatting up Inspector Augustus Grubb (Jordan Fry) who warmed to his part as he relaxed into it. Rose (Rosie Snow) was a joy to watch as the guest who came to dinner and Grace (Susan Braddock) completed the cast coming into the last scene and contributing to a very clever ending. In fact the whole cast played their parts well and their projection and diction were impeccable.  There was a degree of hesitancy in the pace, requiring a few prompts; some of which I suspect where not actually necessary but given because there was a longish pause in the dialogue.   Having said that, the storyline was fascinating and gave plenty of opportunities to confuse the audience! The scenery with this society is always top class and this was no exception, I love looking at it and seeing the attention to detail in both the actual physical scenery and in the use of the props. It is this attention to detail that elevates the production.  Costumes and wigs were appropriate, as was the music between the scenes, the timing of the door bell and the lighting and sound were also right for the action. Very good direction.  Well done.

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