Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime

~~I was expecting a classic murder mystery play until I read the front of the programme which said that the play was “Our funniest comedy yet!”   So I wasn’t sure what to expect when the curtains went up.
The play was a whole series of laughs, almost every line of dialogue had a joke, a malapropism or innuendo that made the audience laugh.   The cast played their parts well and once we had sorted out Doctor Short, played by John Morris, who seemed to appear at different times and then disappear.  Garry Hutchings’ performance as Sergeant Plod was priceless! He had the audience in the palm of his hand every time he spoke even when he did the scene links. Dene Woods played the seemingly incompetent Inspector Drake either when dealing with the two ladies or the Sergeant.   Pam Phipps’ performance as Sabrina and Lix Head-Rapson as Miss Short were good stooges to the two policemen producing in their way many laughs. Trying to convince the police Inspector that they were the correct person and not an impersonating crook was not easy.
I found the pace a little slow, at times, in the first half; as the explanations to unravel the plot seemed to stretch on a bit.   There seemed to be a lot of silences that were not really filled by the activity on stage.   I would have liked to have seen more side play, by Inspector Drake, and the action seemed a little bit static but this was just the development of the overall plot.
In the whole of my years either watching or taking part in plays or shows I have never laughed so much and even at the end I still left with a big smile on my face and I spent most of the drive home, reliving some of the funny moments and priceless dialogue.
Well done to Highbury Players on one of the best plays I have ever seen.

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