Murder by Mattress

Something a little bit different here from Fladbury Players – a murder mystery night featuring an opportunity for the audience to get involved!  The Village Hall was laid out with tables, around which the audience gathered and formed into detective teams, ready to attempt to solve the mystery about to be laid before us.  A ploughman’s lunch was also provided during the interval, a welcome and nicely presented opportunity to fuel up the little grey cells! 

Our case was the murder of the bombastic Lord Charles Kilbourne (an entertaining cameo from Rob Brown), found murdered in his bed (hence the play’s title) at the home of his niece Victoria Rothersfield (Susan Perry, in a delightfully scatty, increasingly drunken turn).  Who could have been responsible for this dastardly deed?  Could it have been his wife Elizabeth (confidently portrayed by Helen Jones), who seems blissfully unworried by the death of her husband, or perhaps her sister Dorothy (Anita Spencer – a very youthful looking 80 year old!)  Or perhaps Florence Amberley (Leah Francis) saw the opportunity to strike a blow for her family following a long-standing feud over a herd of cattle? (spoiler – yes, she did!)

The below stairs staff were also implicated – could the murderer have been Mr Butler (Keith Holman, nicely trenchant) or Lisa Cole’s Mrs Cook (nominative determinism on full display in both cases).  After all, Butler held a grudge over the treatment of his brother, and Cook seemed a little too interested in Lord Kilbourne.  Or what about the young maid Edie (Scarlett Wheeler), who seemed to share a suspicious number of familial traits with the doomed aristocrat?

Guiding the audience through their deliberations were Inspector Moody (Harry Britton, nicely hangdog) and the easily distracted PC Sullen (Steve Cook).  Once the deed had been done, and clues scattered to the winds, we had a chance to question the suspects.  Is Lady Rothersfield really as drunk as she seems?  Why isn’t Lady Elizabeth more upset?  Who stands to gain most by Kilbourne’s death?  And what are those suspicious-looking red stains on Mr Butler’s white gloves?  One never knows what an audience is going to come up with in such circumstances, and there was some quick thinking on display as the cast successfully navigated questions that must have been anticipated, and a fair few that probably weren’t!

Once we had finished with our questions, it was time to pin our colours to the mast and accuse one of the characters of the murder.  I was feeling quietly confident.  The guilty party was then revealed (a little bluntly, perhaps the tension could have been built a bit more?), and I found myself to have been completely wrong!  No matter, the fun of such evenings is in the telling, and the cast clearly had a great time acting out the scenario for us, and their enthusiasm was infectious.  Even the odd missed line didn’t disrupt the feeling of bonhomie that governed the evening.  What fun!

The cast was nicely costumed in 20s style outfits, which really helped to establish the time and place of the story, and the flamboyant nature of the characters.  Scenery was mainly provided by a photograph of a stately home projected onto the rear wall of the stage.  This is not really my thing, but it did the job of setting the scene.  Props wise, everything was present and correct, and the cast certainly had a lot of fun bringing on a succession of suspicious looking knives!

I think that a night such as this provides a great opportunity for cast and audience to let their hair down a little, connect with one another, and enjoy themselves, and on that basis the Fladbury Players certainly succeeded.  My thanks to the Players for inviting me, and I hope to see you all again soon.

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