Murdered to Death

This is a comedic murder mystery set in autumn 1936. At Bagshot Manor, the widow awaits her weekend guests. A recalcitrant butler, with a liking for sherry and the widow’s niece are joined by invited guests plus an unexpected one, in the form of local sleuth, Miss Maple. Following a murder, the inept and bungling Inspector Pratt attends, together with a local constable. Chaos ensues.

The venue, Shanklin Theatre, has a plethora of volunteers which ensures a professional experience. The audience of nearly three hundred was enthusiastic and this was reflected in the laughter. The Director, as always, did a good job of coalescing the cast into a thoroughly cohesive troupe.

The programme was well presented and contained all the relevant information, including photographs and biographies of the cast and some rehearsal photographs.

The set was an excellent representation of the period and extremely impressive, obviously a lot of thought and work had gone into it. It had the appearance of a slightly shabby manor house with suitable furniture, and attention to detail had been paid to the overall dressing of the set.

The costumes and properties were all in keeping with the time frame and the head microphones and well-lit set made it very easy to follow and enjoy.

Terry Pearson (Col Craddock) and Kevin Wilson (Insp Pratt) were the standout performers although the rest of the cast gave good back-up with solid performances. Steve Watts gave his usual comic performance as the over-the-top butler. It was good to see some new faces on stage and it was evident that there was good camaraderie amongst the cast.

As always with the Pepperpots it is evident that a lot of work and preparation had gone into bringing it to the stage. It was a very enjoyable production. Congratulations to everyone involved.

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