The Trouble With Harry

‘The Trouble with Harry’ has been adapted from the book by Jack Trevor Story, which was a made into a 1954 film by Alfred Hitchcock one of his few comedies.  This production has been adapted for the stage by Amanda Eastwood, who has had special permission to transform the story into a play and is, in fact, its very first stage performance. 

The story concerns the discovery of a dead body on the heath and the various characters from the village who each believe they have been responsible for his demise.  On stage, was a very realistic dummy laid across a grassy platform, bearing a very suspicious head wound - but who is he and how did he get there?  Gun shots are heard and a young girl Abi (played that night by Esme but also played by Elsie and Bertie members of the junior drama group) enters looks at the corpse and then picks up a deceased rabbit.  

Then a series of villagers enter, who all have some dealings with our unfortunate corpse.  First villager on the scene is Captain Wiles, a bluff down to earth ex-service man played by (Dave Eldridge) and this is where the first misunderstanding starts.  The captain believes that he was accidentally shot the man while shooting rabbits.  He checks the body for any identification and discovers he is Harry Rogers.  So that is the trouble with Harry he is a corpse!  Villager two enters, the sensible tweed clad ‘spinster of the Parish’ Miss Graveley (Sheena Liversidge) who surprisingly agrees with the captain that they should ‘hide him, cover him and forget him.’  Does she know more about Harry and his mysterious death?

Villager number three arrives with young Abi in tow.  This is Jennifer Rogers (Sophie Campbell) who inspects the body commenting to Abi that ‘he’s asleep’ and seems unconcerned that he’s dead. Does Mrs Rogers have a secret to share?  Then a distracted butterfly hunter enters who later transpires is the local doctor (Derek Le Page) who is oblivious to the dead body in his path, as he is too engaged in catching his ‘painted lady.’  

Another complication arises; a tramp enters (a very funny cameo from Jonathan Cooke) mumbling incoherently to himself.  He then hears some people off in the distance and, to avoid detection, he lies down next to Harry.  The couple enter giggling and chasing each other.  They are obviously not married to each other and probably having an affair reminiscent of Howard and Marina from ‘Last of the Summer Wine.’  The couple cavort across the stage and exit while the tramp steals the shoes off the dead body and goes on his merry way muttering to himself. 

A scene change, where the dead body on the hillock is turned around and gauze curtains opened to reveal a clever double scene.  A village shop owned by Mrs Wiggs (Anna-Maria Vesey) and a parlour scene in the cottage owned by Jennifer Rogers and her daughter Abi.  Our final character is introduced, the painter Sam Marlow (Russell Alder) who has left his pictures to be sold by Mrs Wiggs who he affectionately calls ‘Wiggy.’ 

Much of the comedy comes from the constant burying and digging up of the unfortunate Harry, as the villagers have secrets to impart regarding their possible connection to Harry’s untimely death.  We learn that Harry, is Jennifer’s estranged husband who she has hit with a glass milk bottle, Miss Graveley has been assaulted by Harry who she hit with her ‘ice-calf shoe’ in self-defence, and the captain still believes he is responsible for his death with a misplaced bullet in a hunting accident.   

In one funny scene, as Marlow and the captain are digging up poor Harry once again, they see the tramp arriving and, in a panic, place his corpse on a bench.  The oblivious tipsy tramp sits down next to Harry and starts a conversation with him before bumbling off on his merry way again. 

After all the trouble the unfortunate Harry has caused, it is the village doctor, Doctor Greenbow, who provides the key to the whole mystery so that life can return to normal. 

Some strong performances from the cast who worked well together to bring the story to life.  Sophie Campbell played the quirky love interest well and her developing relationship with Marlow was lovely.  Russell Alder as Sam Marlow held the action together as he acted like an amateur detective gradually piecing the alibis and clues together and he interacted with the other characters well.  Dave Eldridge and Sheena Liversidge, who played Captain Wiles and Miss Graveley, performed well and Dave Eldridge maintained his country accent throughout providing some of the many comedy moments with his dry sense of humour.  Anna-Marie Vesey was good as the simpering Mrs Wiggs the village shopkeeper.  Special mention to Jonathan Cooke, whose cameo performance as the inebriated tramp provided much of the humour and young Esme, who gave a confident performance as Abi with her love of cake and her own unique idea of time. 

The set was a beautifully decorated shop with appropriate accessories and a parlour scene which doubled as both Mrs Rogers and Miss Graveley’s houses.  This was achieved using a throw on the sofa and changing the tea set from white bone china teapot and matching tea cups to an earthenware teapot for the spinster Miss Graveley.  I liked the painted panels for the outside heath area and the clever use of a rotating grassy hillock which the unfortunate Harry was laid across.   Harry himself was a very convincing stuffed figure which was lifted and carried by the cast. 

Costumes were appropriate to the post-world war country village with lots of tweed and 40s style clothing.  I liked Abi’s plaits and dungarees and the transformation of the frumpy spinster Miss Graveley for her date with the captain.

Appropriate use of lighting and sound effects added to the telling of the story with gunshots and between scenes music.  

Well done to Amanda, for bringing this quirky charming story to the stage with all its gentle humour and humorous misunderstandings, in keeping with the charm of a country English village and its eccentric inhabitants. I am sure you are all very proud to be involved with this unique production and it was certainly enjoyed by the audience.  

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