Murder at Your Convenience

When I received an invitation to zoom in on Water Lane Theatre Company’s murder mystery I eagerly accepted and was happy to give some informal feedback, as requested. The society has flatly refused to let a pandemic come between them and their love of entertaining and has made good use of social media during the past year.

My suggestion that this deserved further recognition by way of a show report was put to the committee. I fully understood that this was never meant to be a full scale production, rather something to keep the cast occupied and entertain a few family and friends.  However, the committee agreed that a lot of work had gone into it and that recognition by way of an official report would be appreciated.

Reg Villain’s friends are gathering at a pub in the East End for his retirement ‘do’.  But Reg has been found dead in the disabled toilet.  Head down the loo and bruising around his neck.  One by one we are introduced to the characters as they are questioned by DI Smithers and DC Collins, played by Andy Roberts and Will Jamieson.  I understand that each cast member was given only basic information which they then had to develop for their character statements.  This was so well done it was hard to believe the whole thing was not scripted, the cross over from script to ad lib being barely noticeable.

Penny Reeves as Winnie was every bit the grieving widow. We heard how she had been looking forward to their retirement in Spain, only to be told by Reg that very day that he was taking Racey Tracey with him and not her.

Granville Rush was very convincing as ex DI Nick Nabem, now troubled by arthritis.  He had turned up, uninvited, to have a few words with Reg.  Amanda Green did a good job of bringing to life Sammy the Safecracker. This rather simple character said he was at school with Reg and had been working for him. He had also been well and truly conned by him.

Get Away Gary, played by Matthew Barnes, swears he was sitting in the corner of the bar all the time and didn’t see a thing.  So could it have been Terry the Tealeaf, played by Juliet Richards, a dealer in antiques which are, by his own admittance, not always the real deal?

Everyone had obviously familiarised themselves with their character and were very convincing, but for me two stood out. Kick Boxing Racey Tracey, played by Hannah Juggins, was Get Away Gary’s girlfriend and told us she had no intention of leaving him to go to Spain with Reg. Cat Quigley as Jail Break Jenny was fresh out of jail and with what appears to be firsthand knowledge of how long it might take to kill someone by putting their head down the toilet. These two actors had really gone the extra mile to get their characters, costumes and surroundings just right and obviously enjoyed every minute of it.  Very well done.

Working on a production via Zoom must have had its challenges, especially when one of the cast happens to be in Moscow.   But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, distance proved to be no problem. I think everyone did a great job.  Yes there were a few technical hitches but nothing drastic.  This was meant to be a fun evening’s entertainment and that’s exactly what it was.

So, who did kill Reg?   Well that would be telling, and I’m not about to spoil things for anyone who may yet have the opportunity to catch this excellent murder mystery.

We are all missing live theatre and I think this was a great way to help fill the void.  Well done to all involved and thank you for inviting me to join in.

 

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