The Mirror Cracked

This was a refreshing change. Agatha Christie is not often done these days on the amateur stage. I’ve only seen three others in my ten years as a NODA Representative. And, if this one is anything to go by, I can see why. Talking to the Director, Rachael Bowie and the crew, they told me that there isn’t much in the script and notes on how to stage it. It is told in a series of flashback reconstructions and often with the past and present in the same scene as Jane Marple sets about the business of solving this brutal murder. Rachael and her cast and crew put their thinking caps on and came up with a few ingenious ways of doing so with this new adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff.

Updated from 1953 to the 1960’s, Rachel Wagstaff’s new adaptation still centres on Jane Marple’s sleepy village of St Mary Mead, but where a new housing estate is now being built causing anxiety amongst the locals, highlighted by American film star, Marina Gregg buying the local manor house from Jane’s great friend Dolly Bantry, following the death of Dolly’s husband. At an introductory drinks party for the locals at the manor house, one of their seemingly innocuous number of guests, Heather Leigh is poisoned in what looks like an attempt on Marina’s life. Enter Miss Marple, currently incapacitated after a fall which badly sprained her ankle, to solve what turns out to be a very complex story involving many deep secrets from the past. In other words, a definitive Agatha Christie murder mystery!

Built by Keith Bowie and under the management of Keith Badham and Kate Ruusuvuori with the stage crew of Alysa Brown, Mick Platt and Kevin Fitzgerald, the set was exceedingly clever. Barton Players have the luxury of owning a large apron forestage they can add to the permanent stage and which on this occasion they made good use of it. So, on it to front stage right was Miss Marples living room with period furniture consisting of two high backed comfortable chairs and a round coffee table, a second table against the wall with a 60’s style corded telephone and ‘steam’ radio very much of the period. The decorations on the walls, sourced by Keith Badham included period pictures and a large ornate Victorian barometer. Clare Coffey and Helen Howden sourced the additional props and costume for the show. To stage left was another box used for entrances and exit.

The clever bit was the main stage. When the play started, the back wall was black with what turned out to be three flats and a Perspex sheet serving as a glass box in the middle which when lit for the opening scene revealed the distressed Hollywood star, Marina Gregg hammering on it to get out. Then the outer curved flats were quickly reversed and swung round to the side to give us the set for the living room of the manor house, complete with mint green walls and a period fireplace, where the murder took place. These two sets were constantly swapped from scene to scene as the play progressed. Very quick to change, it facilitated keeping the pace going and worked exceedingly well.  So, congratulations to whoever the genius was behind that!

Lighting by Keith Bowie, who was using his new toy, a touch screen lighting board, for the first time, with understandably just one or two blips, smoothly switched from scene to scene. Sound, designed by Rachael Bowie and operated by Adam Bowie was also cleverly thought through and well executed. The end of each flash back scene was signalled by a loud ‘gong’ and all the actors stood stock still before then very purposefully leaving the stage.  Neat idea! Talking of loud noises, at one point in the plot a large floodlight fell out of the ceiling making the whole audience jump. It was of course deliberate and part of the plot, but just for a second…

Adele Tebb was a perfect Miss Marple, in that she was exactly what you would expect Agatha Christie had in mind and played it to the hilt with actions and mannerisms to match. Jason Wolfe as her friend and foil Chief Inspector Craddock, was the archetypical jovial Mr Plod, not quite in control of events, which provided both some superb moments and some quite funny banter, as he was very much the junior partner on the intellect front.

Gill George as Dolly Bantry, Miss Marple’s best friend and the previous owner of the manor house, gave us some wonderfully delivered lines as her character unprepared for the modern world struggles with such things as the introduction of supermarkets with such indignant lines as, “They actually expect you to take a basket and fill it up yourself!”

Katie Westwick as the glamorous American film star Marina Gregg, did a very good job of portraying an outward appearance of confidence, but inwardly mourning the loss of her son and giving up her two adopted daughters. The clues were all there, but two plus two didn’t quite make four.

Kevin Fitzgerald as Marina’s devoted husband, Jason Rudd certainly kept us guessing till the end, with his ‘what you see is what you get’ characterisation. 

The contrasting two sisters, ‘spoiler alert,’ the only bit of the plot we did work out correctly, were a great contrast, Fallon Vollans-Clark, in her first show for The Players as Cherry a demure domestic servant and Rebecca Smith as the budding, glamorous film star, Lola Brewster.

Debbie Radcliffe, as the chatterbox gossip Heather Leigh was our body and when it comes to red herrings this was Christie at her best. My favourite character however was her hapless husband Cyril Leigh, brilliantly played by Mick Platt. The expression on his face of patience, annoyance, frustration and helplessness, often all at the same time, as he continually attempted unsuccessfully to pass vital information on to the Chief Inspector were worth the ticket price alone!

Does Derryanne Blunt actually speak Polish? Apparently not! But she certainly had me fooled with her accent and delivery as the Polish Secretary Ella Zeilensky. And talking of accents, Carl Welch has to be everybody’s idea of the Italian Waiter, Giuseppe Renzo. Upright, faithfully servant to the end.

And finally good support from Kate Ruusuvuori as the Assistant Director, Jo Hindley as the Camera Operator (and Policewoman) and Alysa Brown as the Boom Operator (and Policewoman) in the studio filming. All of whom were also in their first show for Barton Players.

So well done to Rachael Bowie, her cast and crew, some hard work, excellent characterisations and some very clever out of the box thinking were needed and achieved to pull this one off!

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