Death By Chocolate

Diggle All Stars went that extra mile for their recent production of 'Death By Chocolate' by even having their Front of House team dressed as if they were workers in a sweet factory, it added an air of authenticity to the comedic "who dunnit? " We were all seated on tables set with a tablecloth and scattered with chocolate sweets - a very nice touch. The stage was open so we could get a good look at the set, it was fairly simple with a long cloth covered table, chairs, some sweet boxes, an a-board, 3 portraits hanging across the back of the stage, a small table with a plant and a jug of water on it. 

Costumes were good, very fitting to each character being portrayed. Dialogue projection for the main was good but the sound effects were a bit too loud . Pace was a little stilted at times because there were a lot of prompts on the performance I attended, I do have to add though that the audience weren't bothered - they were having a great time being enveloped into the story. 

Hilary Edgerton as Miss Jelly Bean gave a full bodied performance. Her Scottish accent was spot on and her little affectations and mannerisms really solidified her character. John Smart as Toby LeRone gave us another solid, comfortable performance, he also seemed to fully absorb his character. Cath Smart stepped in at last minute as Pierre Dropse and it was announced that given the fact she had only had a few days to learn the part she would be working with book - I must say, Bravo! She was fabulous, she was so very over the top French all expressive arms and hands, passionate about her chocolates and France. Her accent stayed nicely in place yet remained clear enough for the audience to tell exactly what she was saying and she barely used her script , her pace and presence was formidable. Cherry Pips and Palma Violet played by Jess Kouzelis and Rebekah Burke added some nice red herrings to the piece, I would say to Jess though to just slow down a little bit on the dialogue .Graham Unsworth as the fated Herbert Fountain and Zoey Sweeney as his young, conniving wife both gave some solid performances. Their accents stayed nicely in place, projection and use of the stage space was good. 

The pie and peas at the interval was another fantastic touch and their was much deliberating around the audience tables with theories on who dunnit and why. We had to write it on a piece of paper and hand it to one of the sweetfactory workers before the second half resumed. Georgina Cocker played Detective Abbott and she unveiled the evidence, the reason why and the murderer with dramatic flair. I am pleased to admit that team NODA were one of the two teams that guessed correctly .

Well done, Diggle All Stars on your production of Death By Chocolate. Myself and my guest had a very enjoyable evening and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon. 
 

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