Secondary Cause Of Death

Wymondham Players had invested in audio descriptions for their performances. Society Secretary Georgette Vale showed me the set up and it was excellent, a laptop which was displaying the show live on the screen backstage, where somebody could talk a description of what was happening on stage into an earpiece, to any visually impaired members of the audience. Anything that can bring live theatre to everyone should be applauded.

As I took my seat, I was immediately impressed by the quality of the set.  The stage is wide, and it had been transformed into an elaborate library within “Bagshot House”. Attention to detail was very detailed, including a flickering fireplace, and a very well concealed “secret” door within the numerous bookcases of the library. Every time doors were opened it was very believable and the set designers (Alan Carpenter and Becky Davis), and the members of the cast that built it, had done a grand job.

Also, good lighting and costumes appropriate to the pre-WWII period.  

Peter Gordon, I believe, has written 3 of these Agatha Christie “spoof” plays, and the humour in this second of the series was excellently delivered by the cast.

With what looked like a full audience, and without the assistance of mics, the whole cast’s volume, diction and projection was outstanding.

Of the characters, the hapless Inspector Pratt, (Chris Baines), had a multitude of mixed-up funny metaphors that would have been very particularly tricky to learn and deliver, which Chris did with great skill and aplomb, dead pan and very funny. Heather Carpenter, as the eccentric Cynthia Maple, was hilarious in her put downs of Pratt.

Alan Carpenter, who doubled up as Colonel Craddock and Cardew Longfellow very busy throughout and seamlessly transitioned from one character to the other. As Lady Pollock, Katy Lowry was excellent, as she went from the sullen and sulky upper-class appearance and accent throughout, to transform into a manic escapee from the asylum with accompanying cockney accent.   

David Percival, as Count Puchlik of Puszczykwo (and also an undercover Nazi fanatic) had a touch of “Borat” in his Polish accent, adding to the overall comedy and madcap content of the script. Another character who had a double identity to perform, was Georgette Vale as Lily the cook, who was undercover as a government agent, Georgette was also on spot on in her transition from one character to the other.

 I also enjoyed the performance of Samantha Coultas as Captain Woolmer-Cardington, with a tinge of the late Joyce Grenfell in her characterisation.

Supporting was Emma Marx as Nurse Parsley, and Colleen Glacomelli as Martha Armstrong.

The strength of this production was in the number of characters who had double identities, and the excellent way this was delivered.  

I never quite worked out the ending of the play, but was told later not to attempt to, but it did not matter as the cast tackled the Peter Gordon script seamlessly and delivered an excellent and very enjoyable evenings entertainment.

 

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