Murder in Play

A comedy “whodunnit” structured as a “play-within-a-play” can be quite a challenge but  one that Salterton Drama Club had clearly taken in its stride for this lively production of  ‘Murder in Play’. First impressions count and it was great to see the attention to detail  given to the stylish set (a country house sitting room), particularly in relation to colour co ordination - the flamboyant wallpaper was fabulous! 

The play opens mid-way through a rehearsal of ‘Murder at Priorswell Manor’, the “cast” interrupted at the back of the auditorium by their bombastic and irritable director, Boris  Smolensky. Throughout, all actors gave convincing portrayals of contrasting but equally self-obsessed and dysfunctional characters who harbour resentments and obsessions which  manifested in a variety of ways: such as Mrs. Puttock’s repetitive reference to her glory days  in the soap opera, ‘Harley’s Hotel’, Smolensky’s philandering, Major Pirbright’s twitching  and Pat the Stage Manager’s constant fiddling with the door lock.  

The inevitable conflicts and tensions serve to drive this well-paced comedy and whilst the  audience was initially led to believe that it is Smolensky’s mistress, Ginette, who was the  culprit, via a number of red herrings, we were surprised to find out who killed the irascible  Renee. The second act allowed for the development of characters as each “actor” was given  additional lines or roles, particularly Triggs, who counterbalanced her unassuming on-stage  role as a maid with that of a confident super-sleuth.  

This was a delightful, light-hearted comedy with many funny moments, the most hilarious  when the “cast” reacted to the director’s notes - Mrs. Puttock’s response to “Be older!” and  Mr Papadopoulos re-entry with “more blood” on his shirt were both hysterical! 

Congratulations to Kim Clark and Steve Clark on their directorial debut of ‘Murder in Play’. I  look forward to your next production. 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what they see at the performance in question. The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that their assessment will be affected by that knowledge. 

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed. It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed. Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.