Sleighed to Death

SLEIGHED TO DEATH by Peter Gordon is the prequel to the Pratt trilogy (a series of comic whodunnits) and in this story, Pratt tries to solve an attempted murder. Set in a manor house, the home of aristocrat Sir Walton Gates and his new gold-digging wife, on Christmas Eve, Pratt enters and there then follows an evening of plot twists, mistaken identity and chaos ensues.  

The hall was laid out theatre style: rows with a central aisle. The Front of House team welcomed the patrons in readiness for the show, ensuring a happy and relaxed atmosphere. 

The set was absolutely gorgeous and lavishly decorated in keeping with an English manor house of the 1930s complete with Christmas tree and decorations, portraits, classic furniture and lovely festive touches. 

The costumes and hair-styles were appropriate for the period and added to the nostalgic feel of the production. 

Director, Ros Shepherd assembled an excellent cast with Graeme Cooper as Inspector Pratt and he had great comic timing.  He was assisted by Hazel Bonnin who was very funny and charming as WPC Mary Potter. Her attempts to flirt with Washington were touching. There were some great accents from Fergus Kirkham as Archie (who appeared to be from Australia) and Antonia Demetriadi as Personal Private Secretary, Morag McKay.  This comedy thriller was the perfect choice for the festive season (and we were treated to Christmas songs in the interval which were delightfully sung by members of the Karen Blackburn Dance Academy Musical Theatre Class) and sent up the traditional whodunnit with hilarious comic effect. The entire cast was first rate and the whole production lived up to the excellent standard of previous Hook Players’ productions.

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