Murdered to Death

 

 

Murdered to Death by Peter Gordon is a hilarious spoof of the well-known Agatha Christie “Miss Marple” type of murder mystery, where a mysterious country-house murder is solved by an amateur sleuth in the shape of a nosy old lady.

In this case the hostess, a rich widow, Mildred Bagshot, played well by Sharon Antony, is shot by one of her guests at a weekend reunion. Was it her niece, the rather dowdy Dorothy Foxton (characterized well by Amy Horn with her very expressive face)? Or Mildred’s old flame, the bumbling Colonel Craddock (Paul Keenan doing well in apparently only his second play)? His neglected wife, Margaret (portrayed nicely by Jacqueline Dowse)? Or Pierre Marceau, a “French” Cockney con-man played with some style and very pursed lips, by Gus Sparrow? Or perhaps Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington, the glamorous con-woman who is Pierre’s consort, played in a beautifully-judged style by Rachel Armitage? Or isn’t it usually the butler, Bunting, in a finely observed tipsy performance by Tony Hine?

Each and every one of these has a motive, and the audience has no clue. Enter into the action : Joan Maple, the amateur sleuth played with great style (and twinkly eyes) by Heather Butterworth; Constable Thompkins characterized beautifully by Hugh Butterworth; and the incompetent Inspector Pratt, played with excellent comedic skill by Briony Sparrow.

A play such as this requires a good knowledge of the script for the gags to work, and this company has taken previous criticism to heart and got right on top of it. I did not detect any hesitation or repetition in the flow of the words, and they were so confident that they had made their prompt redundant – a great step forward and congratulations are due. This is particularly noteworthy because I know that two members of the cast had to be replaced at short notice during the rehearsal stage – well done to Hugh and Sharon for doing that, with all of the hard work that must have entailed.

Stage management by Suzie Stevens was seamless, and the set (designed and built by the society) was first rate and looked convincing. Costumes and make-up were very good and in-period – I particularly noticed the shoes worn by Rachel!

Lighting was effective throughout and sound projection and diction was in the main very good. (I had forgotten to put my hearing aids on but still caught nearly every line!!)

Programmes and posters are colorful and meet the NODA requirements to be entered into next year’s competition- thank you.

The guildhall is a jewel of a theatre and I was warmly welcomed by the front-of-house team. I even won a prize in the raffle so drove home having had a thoroughly enjoyable evening with a gift pack of nice smellies to please the wife!! What more can a NODA rep ask for?

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