Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb

Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb is a comedy Thriller by Norman Robbins set in the home of the deadly Tomb family, Monument House and is the third in a trilogy of plays about the hapless Tomb family of professional assassins. Monument House has been turned into a Hotel and ‘alternative’ Health Farm where a number of unexpected visitors descend on owners Hecuba and Drusilla Tomb.

The curtains opened to reveal the Garden Room of the Hotel and Spa, which was well constructed, decorated with wood panelling, French windows and included a very impressive stone fireplace. In addition the secret panel hidden in the bookcase was extremely effective and there was good use of wall lighting and a red glow in the fireplace that added to the overall visuals of this production. Well done to the set constructors, Alan Foster, Andy Reed, Neil Newbrook, Karen Brittle, Alex Edwards and Edward Davies and lighting & sound looked after by Clare Bryan and Lily Mason. The combination of set, lighting, sound and performers made for a great atmosphere.

It was nice to see a mix of seasoned actors and the addition of some new faces making up the cast of characters, all with their own hidden agendas. The action began with two of the remaining Tombs, Drucilla (Lisa Kane) and Hecuba (Shirley Gladwin), who while not the best of friends, are united in preserving the family secrets. A series of unexpected guests sets the evening up for mayhem and murder.

There was a somewhat shaky start to this production with a few fluffed lines by a number of performers but once the momentum of the evening took hold the pace of the dialogue and action was fast and furious.

The audience were treated to an interesting evening trying to follow the twists and turns of this complicated but most enjoyable plot. Dialogue was clear although it is advisable to take breaths for long speeches at the punctuation marks in the script to assist in the delivery rather than in the middle of sentences.

The death count in this production was high with only one of the ten remaining characters left alive after a series of inventive and cleverly staged murders. It was great to see that although a comedy, the performers took their deaths seriously and it was great to see the ‘corpses’ laying perfectly still through out the remainder of the scene.

Tim Parkes as Quentin Danesworth certainly knows how to make an entrance and commanded the stage in his role whilst Rachel Aitcheson as Cicely Venner had me in stitches when she laughed herself to death between delivering her dialogue and having to breath.

Dave Bagenel and Leigh Dunbridge (played Robert and Miranda) great performances just requiring a little more projection of voice to reach the back of the hall at times but word perfect.

Kathy Mcentagart and Jane Parkyn played Phillipa Collins and Daphne Summers a lovely pair of characters that sparked well off each other like a great comedy duo with one setting up the jokes while the other executed the punch line.

Simon Phillips and Alex Edwards played Sir Beverley Comstock and Anthony Strickland, again another great pairing, with a great-maintained accent for Simon and a lovely change of character for Alex in Act Two.

Drucilla and Hecuba Tomb (played by Lisa Kane and Shirley Gladwin) held the show together and the delivery of dead pane lines, comedy timing and knowing looks were spot on.

The cast worked well together and the telling looks between them all made for a great production directed by Richard Astle. I particularly liked the over heard conversations happening outside of the room and the timing to enter the room which gave the impression of an extremely large house.

This was a most enjoyable evening and the applause given by the audience at the end was well deserved.

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