The Unexpected Guest

When you go to see a play by Agatha Christie, you know you are going to be taken on a Journey which has many twists before the villain is discovered. This play does exactly that, and WADS delivered it superbly, thanks to the attention to detail and very tight, excellent direction by Alison Steele.

The play is a thriller as well as a puzzler and is set on foggy night in an estate in Wales. A stranger walks into the house to find a wheelchair bound man murdered, and his wife standing over him with a gun. But the woman is dazed and her confession is bemused and unconvincing.  The “Unexpected Guest” decides to help her and blame the murder on an intruder. Later the police discover clues that point to a man, who died two years previously, and so the inevitable mix of love and hate, suspicion and intrigue, plus a few Red Herrings, ensue.

Each member of the cast contributed to the performance with style, confidence and pace and their individual characterisation was very convincing. The strong performances revealed that each one of them probably had sufficient reasons to commit the murder of Richard Warwick, who, it is revealed, was a very unpleasant, evil individual.  They really managed to keep the audience guessing right up to the end.  I have to mention, here, that the part of Richard Warwick (Deceased) was excellently played by Jon Risdon – I don’t know how he managed to remain so still for so long!

The part of Laura Warwick was played by Kenzie Greenwood.  Her performance was exceptional.  She was able to convincingly display the shock, horror, confusion and loyalty of a woman who confesses to a murder that she did not do in order to protect the person she believed to be guilty.

Michael Starkwedder was played by Ivan Hall.  This was a strong, determined, forceful portrayal of a duplicitous character out for revenge while masquerading as the hapless stranger.  He takes charge of the situation and seemingly offers to help Laura to create a solution.  Very convincing. 

Georgie Joyce played Miss Bennett who appears to be a “goody goody” but shows her true colours when goading Jan, the challenged younger half-brother of Richard, into confessing to the murder.  A very believable performance. 

Henry Angell was superbly played by Ian Dobson.  Outwardly, the typical manservant/nurse character, but Ian was able to show by his speech delivery, demeanour, and the veiled attempt at  blackmail, that he was anything but what he purported to be.  Extremely enjoyable.

The two police officers, Sergeant Cadwallader and Inspector Thomas were played respectively by Jon Risdon and John McCormack.  Both produced polished performances with The Inspector displaying resigned acceptance of the antics of the poetry loving Sergeant.  Very entertaining. 

Julian Farrar was played by Gary Martin.  Julian was the love interest of Laura and the person Angell tried to blackmail.  He was competently played by Gary with just the right amount of arrogance.  He also showed the character’s “caddishness” when he eventually abandoned Laura.

Jan Warwick was superbly played by Chris Wales.  His interpretation as the mentally challenged half-brother of Richard was extremely commendable.  He never wavered from the characterisation.  This was an impressive performance.

Mrs Warwick was the mother of both Richard and Jan, albeit to different fathers. Karen McCarthy addressed this character with just the right amount of dignified indifference, whilst making the viewer aware that she knew more about her family than she let on. The result was a convincing portrayal.

As this is a play by Agatha Christie, I am not allowed to reveal who the guilty party is!  Suffice to say, I did not know until the final scene.

The set, the mood lighting and incidental sound were excellent, and the furnishing and costumes were very appropriate. Congratulations to all those involved.

I would also like to thank Chris Copeland and his Front of House Staff for the very warm welcome they gave us, and for looking after us all evening.

 

 

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