Clueless

Clueless was an original play written and directed by local talent B.A. Morris, this was a creative and well imagined whodunnit which combinates the thrilleresque style of Agatha Christie with the comedic wit and humour of Noel Coward.

Upon arriving at the venue, I received a very warm welcome from Betty, Pauline and Paul and it didn’t take long to recognise how much love and community spirit there was here, it really was a heartwarming experience from start to finish. Without the concealment of stage curtains, the audience were able to admire and appreciate the highly detailed set, which was beautifully dressed in the 1920’s art deco style, with period appropriate props and furniture. Situated within a drawing room of a grand house, with French doors leading out onto a terraced area sporting a sea view with blue skies, we were instantly transported back in time. Upon the wall of the drawing room was a rather unusual abstract painting (think Picasso), for which its purpose would become clear, later.

In true whodunnit style a mysterious figure donning a sleuth type mac and hat, enters the house from the terrace and can be seen sneaking across the room (in true pink panther style!), placing an object inside a cigarette box before sneaking back out. Enter dynamic sister and brother duo Biffo and Bertie played brilliantly by David Jones and Laura Gwynne. The pair have been tasked by their cousin Gertrude (Gertie) to arrange her next extravagant party at her summer house by the sea. With lines delivered with great pomp and energy and accents which would rival our late Queen, these two over privileged, entitled snobs would have to fall off their pedestals at some point, right? Enter the staff; first we meet the unwieldy, unhelpful, and slightly aggressive maid, Jacqueline. This was an outstanding performance by Hilary Jones, an extremely talented actress, with great comic timing and deliverance. She captivated her audience from beginning to end and for me she gave us some of the biggest laughs of the show. I enjoyed her interactions with other characters especially her continuous antagonistic jibes (with jump scares) at poor little rich girl Bertie. I must also applaud her epic Charleston with the charismatic maid Myrtle Scroggins played by Lexi Myers, another strong performance. The reprisals of this dance routine throughout the show were just perfectly timed and performed by both Hilary and Lexi, it was simply FAB-U-LOUS, darlings! Gerard the ‘lurch like’ butler, was played well by Josh Cox. This quiet, unassuming character gave us all the heebie-jeebies, as he prowled the set. With his constant spying antics, through the cleverly concealed peep holes within the painting, it certainly made him number one suspect, when the body (assumed to be Gertie’s) is later discovered. Well done to Josh and Hilary on the timing of that ‘poke in the eye’ moment, it certainly made us all gasp with its execution. I have to say there was an air of relief when Josh walked out with his eye patch, denoting that it was intentional and part of the plays action.

The arrival of the entertainment Letitia Lagonda, a fading Italian opera star; her son Lawrence and his wife Lucretia played respectively by Steffi Ellis, Gareth Thompson and Sarah Jenkins, all gave good solid performances. Steffi as the overbearing mother unwilling to let go of her former stardom, whose constant bickering with Sarah as the daughter-in-law supported by Gareth the poor husband/son, who finds himself caught in the middle, made for an interesting power dynamic with great hilarity. When left alone, their accents suddenly slip from Italian to Welsh, and it soon becomes clear that they aren’t who they say they are. The accents were good and very consistent. Another guest arrives in the form of Detective Percy Parrot (pronounced Pa-row), not to be confused with Belgium Detective Hercule Poirot, a joke that played out throughout the evening. Parrot was played convincingly by Paul Oliver, who had great stage presence and delivered his lines well, as the methodical problem-solving detective. I particularly enjoyed his involvement in the magazine ’sleight of hand’ routine (well played by all involved, very clever!) and his concluding monologue ahead of the big reveal. There were also some lovely cameo performances from both Dan Hoskins as Dover and Amy Yemm, as the straight-talking maid, Sally.

The final scene was brilliantly executed with stand-out performances from Hilary, Lexi and Paul. I must applaud Betty on her creative playwriting, there were so many fantastic twists and turns at the end, which I won’t spoil here. Clueless was a great piece of theatre which was well-acted and directed.  It had an excellent script with well-developed characters, it was fun, full of action and was evenly balanced with drama, mystery, humour, and wit. With plenty of red herrings to throw you off the scent and all those well-loved whodunnit tropes, it was an enjoyable watch and truly deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Thank you for making me feel so welcome and I can’t wait to see Paradise in October 2023.

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