Mystery at Greenfingers

J.B. Priestly, known for ‘An Inspector Calls’ among others, wrote this lively script for an amateur drama competition in 1937 calling it “a comedy of character masquerading as a mystery play.” 

Staff have arrived at Greenfingers Hotel to prepare for the upcoming season. They find themselves snowed in with telephone lines down and then a surprise visitor arrives with a companion who then disappears leaving the bumbling house detective to try and solve the mystery.

All the action takes place in a staff room of the hotel which meant the cast had to work round a table and chairs which on the small stage sometimes looked crowded but the pace was maintained over the three acts. Lighting and sound were all well executed. 

Richard Morgan, portraying chef Arnold Jordon, faced the challenge of maintaining a French accent and managed it quite well. Both Flynn Causer and Isla Brindley gave excellent performances as housemaids Sally Philips and Clara Packer, while Henrik Hansen brought an enjoyable flair to his role as the exaggerated detective Robert Crowther. Kenny Wyton played assistant manager Keith Henley with strong characterisation, though it was unfortunate he lacked the confidence to perform without relying on his script. Deborah Fury as Edna Sanders, Claire Milner as Helen Tennant, Heidi Scott as Rose Heaton, and Dave Francis as Fred Poole all portrayed their characters effectively. In my opinion, Paula McMullen gave the standout performance, infusing her role as Miss Tracey with both mischief and charm eventually revealing the answer to the mystery.

This engaging mystery play was created to provide amateur dramatic societies with an opportunity to demonstrate their acting abilities. Congratulations to The Russett Players and director Brenda Hansen for achieving this goal.

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