The Unexpected Guest

Thank you for the warm welcome at The South Holland Centre, as I came to see your first night of The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie. As I entered the auditorium, I was able to admire the stage set which was wonderfully intricate, with period furniture, wall coverings, including pictures and comfortable chairs and sofa.

When the play starts we realise it is a foggy night, Richard Warwick (Charlie Russell) is slumped in the wheelchair. Michael Starkwedder (Cory Brook) enters the home of the Warwicks through a window in the study. He finds the dead body of Richard Warwick, and finds Warwick's wife, Laura, (Melissa Roberts) holding a gun that supposedly killed him. Despite the murder being obvious, and overwhelming evidence pointing towards it, Starkwedder does not believe she killed him, and she soon tells him she's innocent. The two decide to place the blame on an enemy from the past, MacGregor, a man whose son was run over by Richard while he was drunk. As the story progresses, the two fake that they were just finding out about the murder, and others in the house are introduced. It is revealed Laura was having an affair due to Richard's cruel nature, and was vouching for the man (Julian played by director James Emmett-Laing) she was cheating with when she claimed to have killed Richard. But there are other suspects as well - Warwick's mother (Jane Adams), his simple half-brother, (Lily Bergin) the sinister Angell (Zack Colam), or the apparently goody-goody Miss Bennett (Jane Moss). The real murderer could be anyone! It was all very complicated and made the audience suspect everyone at some point during the play.

Outstanding performances from Lilly Bergin playing the simple son, with accurate body language and delightful playfulness, with a good costume which Lily was able to make us believe she was a complete boisterous handful within the family home.  I enjoyed the competent execution of a worried, wife by Mellissa Roberts, she gave a very believable and delightfully realised performance. Many good acting choices, and expressive facial and body language meant we felt sympathy for her from the outstart.

I particularly enjoyed Zack’s portrayal and competent acting to deliver the character of Angell the supposedly competent kindly manservant. Later he delivered surprise revelations and showed a very different side to his character which the audience enjoyed.  Jane Moss demonstrated her character well. Her use of set props and body language were excellent. Jane Adams played the mother of Richard, her heart was in the right place, but we discover secrets she is holding and move the story to different and dark places. Jane gave a super performance, with good vocals with plenty of light and shade in her acting choices. Julian Farrar, was a complicated character played delightfully by James, he had the audience guessing as to his motives and delighted in the revelations and actions his character brings to the story. Cory Brook played the titular role, he gave a good performance as a credible troubled guest in the house.

In many Agatha Christie mysteries, there is a Police Inspector. Inspector Thomas was played very well by Alan Jackson, with a good Welsh accent, tempered with eloquent diction. He owned the stage, interacted with all the other characters well and looked perfect in his suit. His side-kick Sergeant Cadwallader, was deliciously Welsh, poetic and used comedic actions to add a little light relief to the heavy dialogue.

I enjoyed the incidental music which set the scene well and a good simple lighting plot. (Lights and sound by Steve Jackson and SM Sophie Gale). I would have liked the front of the stage to be better lit, and perhaps some lighting outside on the ‘terrace’ to accentuate the differing times of day and night. Something perhaps you can attend to before your next performance.

Good direction, (by James Emmett-Laing) meant the stage was used well, the performances and interactions you coaxed out of your actors were believable and overall a great execution from your cast. There was positive motivation for the actors to enact and you built the tension through the story well. I felt the costumes lacked a little, I would have liked to see the trousers on the male characters fit better, more in line with the times of the play, a wig for Jan, rather than hair pulled back, and possibly a hairpiece for Jane (Mrs Warwick). My small criticism, of an otherwise well put together and cohesive wardrobe.

Overall production was very good, with great promotion over the past month on facebook with a well written program, which sadly lacks the NODA details, so I will not be able to entre it into our Poster or Program competition. It was lovely to meet you all after the show and to praise your first night. I hope you have good run and bigger audiences, as your dedication and hard work on this production deserves to be supported well.

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