Death by Design

The usually reliably marvellous TAODS presented this spoof murder mystery (supposedly equal parts Noël Coward and Agatha Christie) from author Rob Urbinati at the wonderful Hippodrome theatre. Given the amount of coverage Mr Urbinati got in the programme, I assumed I should have known more about his work prior to this production but I’m afraid I didn’t. My loss I’m sure but this play didn’t really urge me to seek out any of his other works unfortunately. There was very little of Coward - and virtually nothing of Christie - in this pastiche whodunnit and it was difficult to see very much of the mannered wit, or the deft plotting, of either of the aforementioned famous writers in Urbaniti’s piece.

The curtain opened on a beautiful set, carefully constructed and sturdily built on two levels. Perfectly suggesting the period drawing room ambience and fantastically well appointed, this was a wonderful example of the stage builders’ art. Full marks to David Winslow and team: this was a superb piece of theatrical engineering. 

This being a comical murder mystery of sorts, the audience was introduced to all the usual suspects, one by one. The script demands a great deal from the performers and it has to be said that everyone on stage worked wonders to breathe life into their respective characters. The Coward/Christie ‘mash-up’ would probably have been better described as a cross between Ionesco and Dario Fo (and treated accordingly) but as it was, I couldn’t fault any of the performers on stage for giving of their best. 

The always reliable Janet Spooner was an effervescent force on stage throughout the evening as the cheeky maid, Bridgit. A performer who knows her business, Janet fought against the leaden script to give a most amusing performance. The opening scene with Bridget and Jack was particularly well judged and Joel Brown was something of a revelation as naughty Jack ‘the lad’ the chauffeur. The programme informed me that this was his first play: Joel is a seasoned - and very talented - performer in musicals and his performance here was something of a revelation. A word of advice Joel - don’t eschew dramatic roles in future at the expense of musical froth: this was an assured performance which really connected with the text. 

The enigmatic pairing of Edward and Sorel Bennett was brought to life with engaging charm by Joe Marsden and Ceri Garnett. Sorel was every inch the flighty ‘grand dame’ of the piece and Ceri stamped her authority on the role throughout. Joe had a lot of script and stage time to manage as Edward and he battled through the evening in fine style. I’ve said it before - and it looks like I must keep on saying it until someone pays heed - but please District 3, can we please have more on-stage smoking, rather than have characters sucking at empty pipes or wandering about with unlit cigarettes?! 

Eric (the trademark scruffy lefty who is as much a part of the classic whodunnit of a certain vintage as a Poirot or a Marple) was very well played by Dan Mugan. I enjoyed his realistic and straightforward performance very much and I hope to see him on stage again soon. Walter Pearce was engagingly portrayed by Roger King, again, perfectly balancing his performance to the demands of the piece. Having to spend a good deal of stage time as a ‘body’ on stage isn’t easy but Roger did a good job. 

Kelly Parker as Victoria Van Roth excelled and really understood what was required of her character. This was a standout performance for me as Kelly gave us a bravura reading of the whodunnit ‘type’ she was asked to play. In contrast, Chloe McNeill’s performance as Alice was rather jarring and didn’t fit in with the ensemble or the overall feel of the production.

As a well oiled, sumptuous looking production, Todmorden are to be praised for delivering a fine looking night out at the theatre. As always, the idea of what the man in the street regards as ‘amateur’ theatre need not apply here. This was a first rate production and looked wonderful. However, as a considered and thoughtful production of an average script, I found the show wanting in many directions. Martin Cook is an intelligent director but I have to say that I think that he was captured and shackled by assuming that the play was better than it is. There is none of the wit of Coward, nor anything of the pin-sharp plotting of Christie in this piece which supposedly, spoofs the best of both authors. The one and only laugh of the evening came from an unintentional line fluff and a fourth wall breaking admission of guilt: this approach would have been something of a boon had it been adopted from the outset. If characters onstage had been played in a more ‘Coward-camp’ fashion, or ‘stereotypically Christie’ and the whole affair carried off with a little more blithe spirit, it may have worked. As it was, this production proved that you can’t polish a thing which may sometimes alternatively be rolled in glitter: neither polishing or an application of glitter could do much with this piece I fear.

If a play such as ‘Death by Design’ can’t be brought to life effectively by a powerhouse theatrical force such as TAODS, we have to wonder what the problem is. There are a lot of spoof whodunnits out there (and even more straightforward whodunnits) which deserve an airing before this play needs the oxygen of publicity again. I can’t believe that any other society could do better than Todmorden at trying to breathe life into the wan script and I certainly don’t blame them for trying. The pacing of Act 1 was plodding and slow; Act 2 threatened to go into reverse and became almost sorely trying… When the play’s programme has pages and pages devoted to the author, a biography of Gertrude Lawrence and further pages on the history of Cookham (and Stanley Spencer), we have to assume that the audience is being asked to look elsewhere for intellectual refreshment rather than onstage.

My thanks go to all at Todmorden for producing a top-notch evening’s entertainment and for the warm welcome afforded to Craig and myself. The material wasn’t really worthy of the talented Todmorden team on this occasion but It’s always impressive to see the latest offering at the Hippodrome and I salute your approach to bringing superbly worked theatrical events to life in such fine surroundings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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