Cluedo

Based on the murder mystery board game, Cluedo, the premise of the play is one of a ‘whodunnit’. However, the murder suspects are well known to even those who haven’t played the game (which co-incidentally was manufactured just up the road in Hunslet) with personifications of Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs Peacock, Rev Green, Mrs White and of course, Colonel Mustard taking centre stage in this play.  The little ‘weapons’ such as a candlestick, dagger, rope and wrench had all been crafted to become life size by the talented Fire Goblin's Forge and these perfect reproductions added to the idea that we were seeing the game come to life. The murder locations which feature on the board: Dining Room, Study, Kitchen, Hall, Conservatory, Library and Ballroom, were all recreated in the set.  The design and build was hugely impressive with the cleverly developed traverse staging allowing an immersive atmosphere as the characters used the ‘corridor’ to travel from room to room and also progress scene changes.  Congratulations to Alyssia Cooper and Leon Cooper for their hard work to produce the board game as the set so creatively.  

The dinner scene was a masterclass in physical comedy and the wonderfully epic direction stood out in this scene as the cook dispensed sliced meat with silver tongs and the main players moved rhythmically in slow motion giving the audience more than just a first, second and third course of culinary action.  With no narrative script this piece of theatre was beautifully choregraphed so that the interlaced dance between characters and properties was mesmerising – I never thought I would be entranced by the clever stacking of plates and moving of soup bowls!  Helen Grace as the cook demonstrated that even with a small role there is always scope to show amazing acting and characterisation. Simply fantastic.

Some of the scene changes are ingenious and help to create a sense of period atmosphere, enhanced by great music and some wonderful dance moves by the cast especially the maid Yvette (Kylie Tilford).  There was a talented cast in the supporting roles; Mabz Best as Mr Boddy, Katy Ryan as Bobby, Mon Haley as Winnifred Pink, Debbie Berry as Inspector Brown and Julia Caves as Delilah Telegram all of whom added to the fun and on onstage capers by creating great characters to enhance the storyline.

Jill Critchley was a tantalizing Miss Scarlett – just the right level of seductive and suggestive comments without being too vampish. Tina Green was wonderful as the haughty Mrs Peacock, a very classy portrayal. Faye Benning as the flighty Mrs White, captured the black widow persona with a delightful edge.  Pompous Colonel Mustard was played by Malcolm Trigg with wonderful comic reactions to the ‘advances’ of Miss Scarlett.  Richard Deakin as the doddering Rev Green, left the audience feeling almost sorry that he was caught up in this murderous mayhem, but also intrigued at why he was and Aaron Jospeh playing the know-it-all Professor Plum gave another strong performance.

The main characters were all excellent, but the starring role went to Aidan Huges as Wadsworth the Butler who is a strange, but hugely entertaining narrator of progress through ‘the game’.  Wonderful diction from Hughes who never missed an opportunity to share a raised eyebrow or give a quick aside.  There was something slightly sinister about his performance, which (no spoilers) comes to light at the end, but he definitely didn’t give the game away during this murderous night of fun.  His near final monologue was wonderful in its richness of activity and the spontaneous applause from the audience was totally deserved.

Costumes suited the production perfectly with lovely, gentle hints to some of the characters names such as  Mrs Peacocks beautifully decorated handbag and headdress.  Special effects were great - the thunderclaps and lightening were beautifully timed with sound and light working together perfectly.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable production with some breath-taking choreography,  especially at dinner and during the scene changes.  My sincere congratulations to Director Fraser Sugden and Assistant Director Faye Benning as it was evident that creative direction had played a huge part in the success of this play.

Footnote:  In researching the play I was interested to learn that the board game was designed by a husband and wife team from Birmingham and originally titled "Murder!".  The premise was developed to entertain people during wartime air raids.  The game was sold to UK publisher Waddingtons in 1947 and officially released it in 1949.   The name "Cluedo" is a combination of "Clue" and "Ludo," which is Latin for "I play" – useful information for pub quizzes everywhere!

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