Ravenscroft

The author requires the play to be set in a black box with limited scene setting furnishings except for an imposing staircase and requires that the five suspects sit up stage when not being interviewed by the Inspector. There was good interaction between the characters and the changes in tone and attitudes were very well drawn out. 

It is a wordy play with lengthy duologues and requires a cast that can breathe life into the assorted characters to keep the audience engaged and fortunately Shinfield players has a fine cast of six who manage to make sense of the bizarre and absurd twists that the Inspector uncovers. The cast of six wonderfully created their different characters, making the twists, and turns in their stories seem credible and react facially and in their body language beautifully to the questioning and responses they hear. 

Most impressive is the Inspector who on three weeks rehearsals copes magnificently with the long wordy investigations and if he uses the script concealed in his notebook at all, does so with great skill and without hesitation. The five women created intriguing and mystifying characters and relationships which they developed brilliantly as the ever-changing puzzle unravelled.

The staircase which was almost a seventh character itself dominates the stage. The directors effectively used it for the entrances and exits of the women, and to emphasise their theories and stories and to good effect in the final diorama hinting at what happens next. The play appears to be Theatre of the Absurd and though the implication is that the audience is meant to constantly speculate on what is real and what is fantasy it does somewhat detract from the fine performcnes from the cast. 

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