Murdered To Death

Murdered to Death By Peter Gordon is the first in the ‘Inspector Pratt’ trilogy of spoofs of the Agatha Christie ‘whodunnit’ genre. The play introduced the inept and bungling Inspector Pratt, played with tremendous skill and energy by Neil Markland, who battles against the odds and his own incompetence to solve the murder of the owner of the home that a party is taking place in. It soon become clear that the murderer wasn’t finished yet.  Would we see the miscreant unmasked before everyone else had met their doom or would we all die laughing first?

 

Waddington Players produced a great evening of entertainment to a packed village hall and it was so great to see this company going from strength to strength. Director Julie Addison has cast the play very well with newcomers and old confident hands alike.

Beth Johnson was delightful as Mildred Bagshot, her first time on stage and she gave a confident performance with good diction and competent acting.  Dorothy Foxton who is Mildred's niece was played by Kayleigh Hellard, another first-timer with Waddington Players.  Her role was a clever balance between a sweet and helpful companion to Mildred, and a feisty blackmailer when she uncovers a plot to defraud her aunt. Very well played, good body language and excellent voice work and diction.

Andy Brown and Dee Horne were paired as the suspect French Pierre Marceau and the flirty posh totty Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington.  There were many funny scenes between these two and brilliant characterisations working between their different persona and accents.

Tony Graves played the gruff but likable Colonel Charles Craddock, with aplomb. Super acting, great voice work, and a good pace.  Gary Wright played the incompetent Bunting with hilarious comic timing and tremendous energy from start to finish. Joan King played the Miss Joan Maple role really well.  So many funny moments between Miss Maple and the other characters she had us all in stitches.

Neil played Inspector Pratt with loads of energy and a great pace. I liked his acting choices and loved all the wordplay. The comedic element was incredible, but there was a sadness and uncertainty about the character which meant he had the audience’s sympathy. Sensational acting and superb characterisation.

The deadpan Constable Thomkins played by Dale Storey was a great character.  Trying to correct the inspector and not undermine him, was how he started out, but by the end after a few mishaps with the gun, he is less likely to conform to this role and steps up to capture the suspects.  Dale’s acting was great, especially when mostly he stood by the wall, but his facial expressions were hilarious and just right for the part..

Maria Wagstaff played the role of Margaret Craddock, wife to Col Craddock. Maria’s acting and facial expressions were really excellent. A master class in holding the character, keeping acting despite not saying anything.  Her diction was excellent, despite hiccoughs with the mic she stayed in character and we heard every word. A real star!

The set was lovely, a 1930’s style drawing room with many subtle elements that embellished the set. A fireplace, lovely wallpaper, pictures, and furniture all gave the impression of a pre-war home. Set build Adrian Peill, technical effects Peter Cheseldine, lighting Kev Gillingham and David Ridout, all brought the sound and lighting elements together to bring the story to life.

It was lovely to be welcomed by the singing from Rob Steadman's choir, with lovely harmonies, and super sound. Rob also wrote an original piece of music ‘Murdered To  Death’ for the production, which is available on Spotify.

Your programme is really good, with the correct Noda elements so I will enter this into the regional competition 2023. Don’t forget to send a PDF poster to me for the poster competition.

Overall a fabulous play, with huge wit and stupendous characterisation, and comic timing.  Well done Julie for getting the best out of your team. Always a pleasure to attend a Waddington production and congratulations on receiving your Regional Award last weekend.

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