A Party to Murder

This October I was invited to Wigan Little Theatre to attend a party which turned out to be A Party to Murder. Written by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes and directed by Katie Davis this was a very entertaining and sometimes puzzling production from Wigan Little Theatre. It is Halloween and author Charles Prince has invited five people to attend a murder mystery party in a remote cottage on a remote island situated in the middle of a lake in North America. However, things turn rather sinister when the guests begin to die, and bodies are found in a secret passage and in the window seat, an incriminating letter appears, and a 25-year-old unsolved missing persons mystery appears to have a large bearing on the proceedings, then the remaining guest realize that there is a murderer amongst them.

The six talented actors produced a very entertaining mixture of different characters and worked together brilliantly as a team, they included Richard Higson as Charles, Caroline McCann as Valerie, Joyce Hope as McKenzie, Stacy Vernon as Henri, Will Nelson as Elwood and John Tyrer as Willie. Dialogue was clear and easily heard which is a necessity for any production especially this play that had a complicated plot with twist and turns, enabling the audience to follow the story and try to solve the mystery. There was a mixture of American accents which were very well enunciated, and I felt at times the accents helped with some of the comedy. I laughed at Caroline’s facial expressions when Stacey as Henri, finished off Valerie’s sentences using excellent timing and a southern American drawl. Then there was McKenzie’s (Joyce Hope) marked pauses during her dialogue and her quirky walk which became more pronounced as the plot moved on. I was a little puzzled at first when watching and listening to these nuances were they subtle hints, but hints to what? I thought at first that we were seeing a play within a play, but I was wrong, however I was on the right track. I will say no more as I do not want to reveal the plot or the conclusion of the story as a big part of the success of this play is the reveal at the end.

The set designed by Katie Davise and Neil Brogan was important to the plot in this play as there were window seats and secret passageways, used in the action, the set builders and painters had done an excellent job as is usual for Wigan Little Theatre. There were also some (as Katie says) tricky technical effects which were handled efficiently by the crew, sound design was by Mel Meadows and lighting by Andy Brown. Costumes were organized by Stacey Vernon and were just right for each character. Well done Stage Manager, John Naughton, all the backstage crew, props, lighting, and sound operators and Brian Kendrick the Production Assistant.

Congratulations to all involved in bringing this very slick entertaining murder mystery to the stage, which had an unexpected twist at the end, and I must admit I did not expect it, which was the same for the people sat near me. Thank you for inviting me I had a very enjoyable evening.

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