Spider's Web

This was a special evening for this society, for not only was this the opening night of their latest play, an Agatha Christie mystery, it was their 200th production and their 75th season of plays.

The action took place in the drawing room of The Hailsham-Browns’ home and whilst I have become accustomed to some of their amazing set designs of past productions, I was awestruck at first sight of this magnificent, well-constructed set. There were 5 doors altogether, which included a hidden door leading to a hidey hole, central to the plot. The red velvet furnishings gave a cosy feel yet effectively spacious to accommodate a believable place for a large cast.

This was a well-chosen play, for different reasons, and the Whodunit plot was relatively intricate. It is a story involving murder, police, hidden doorways, secret drawers, and suspicious characters.

There were some excellent performances by the actors with interactions that maintained pace and continuity, ensuring our close engagement and focus. This is most reflective of the dedicated time given to ensuring quality performances by the director, Rachel Holmes, but also to all those in the team working hard behind the scenes.

The performers were convincing in their roles without exception. Denise Bowen-Walters as Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, the second wife of diplomat Henry Hailsham-Brown, confidently carried the story with strength. Her “Suppose I found a dead body in the drawing room,” became the pivot of the unfolding drama. When a corpse appeared behind the sofa, she became desperate to dispose of the body before her husband came home with an important politician.

Clarissa sought the help of her relatives and friends who happened to be staying as guests in her home. This included her guardian, Sir Rowland Delahaye (Ray Lawrence), who appeared so genuinely fond of her he would do anything to help her; his honourable JP friend, Hugo Birch (Dale Roberts) and the flirtatious Jeremy Warrender (Dave Mills). Clarissa persuades her guests to help her not only hide the body by moving it into the secret passage in the house but also to hide the truth from the police. The murdered man was not known to certain members of the house but when the police arrived, because they had received an anonymous phone call from someone who had reported murderous goings on, they came looking for a body. Clarissa’s friends agreed to fake a Bridge party, but it did not fool the Inspector (Thomas Kendrick). No one had any idea why there had been a murder but the victim, Oliver Costello (Lee Connelly), was now married to Clarissa’s husband’s former wife. She and Clarissa’s husband had a daughter, Pippa (Zo Fryer) who was closer to her stepmother than to her maternal mother. Clarissa is left to deny a murder has taken place at all and both Clarissa and the rest of the cast become tangled in her web of lies.

Denise was thoroughly credible as Clarissa Hailsham-Brown and gave a flawless, polished performance. Ray Lawrence played the role of Sir Rowland Delahaye with gentlemanly charm and adopted a relaxed persona on stage with a calm exterior despite a stressful situation and attempting to deceive the police. Dale Roberts was well cast as Hugo and convincingly agitated and panic stricken in case, as a JP, he could be found to be deceiving the law. Dave Mills portrayed the inquisitive Jeremy Warrender suitably. Zo Fryer made a very convincing school girl, the ever hungry step daughter who became visibly distraught when an aggressive Oliver Costello (Lee Connelly) demanded she returned to her mother. She certainly raised questions in my mind that she may have unwittingly committed the murder. Kerry Jones was delightful as the eccentric gardener and brought much humour to the role. She had the funniest lines in the play, yet her character retained an air of mystery, for she had all the keys to all the doors. She delivered this role with energy and clearly relished her character.

Thomas Kendrick had the right measure of authority and bemusement as Inspector Lord and maintained well-paced interviews and with Nicola Dolphin Brown, playing Constable Jones following orders, kept the action engaging at moments when the play dragged a little towards the end. Solid support from Noel Redfern as Henry Hailsham-Brown was evident, whilst Lee Connelly in role as Oliver Costello, and Elgin, the butler, played by Adam Wyke, all presented believable characters.

Rachel did a splendid job directing so many cast members with such a lot of dialogue and movement whilst maintaining elements of suspense and injecting moments of surprise. This play deserved to be well patronised. Thank you for inviting me and congratulations to all the cast and crew.

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