A PARTY TO MURDER. To 23 August.
Nottingham.
A PARTY TO MURDER
by Marcia Kash and Douglas E Hughes.
.
Theatre Royal. To 23 August 2008.
Mon-Fri 7.30pm Sat 8pm Mat Wed 2pm & sat 5pm.
Runs: 2hr 10min One interval.
TICKETS: 0115 989 5555.
www.royalcentre-nottingham.co.uk
Review: Alan Geary: 18 August 2008.
An entirely enjoyable homage to Dame Agatha.
The Stranglers' background music, sinister but at the same time playful, warns you that this American thriller is going to be a lot of fun. It is.
The play doesn’t just keep you guessing right up to the end; it’s a joyous and conscious homage to Agatha Christie - her portrait is on the wall. And, by way of a leg-pull, six of her titles are incorporated into the dialogue.
It’s also, at least in the early scenes, a frock-followers’ fest. Valerie (Karen Henson) is provocative in a short scarlet number and McKenzie (Jo Castleton) gets to wear two stunners in quick succession.
Thereafter the entire cast, gathered in an isolated cottage to take part in a murder game, are clad in dressing-gowns and/or pyjamas - no-one can sleep because of the thunderstorm raging without, and, what’s more to the point, there happens to be a real-life murder.
At half-time you’re invited to guess whodunnit and submit your suggestion on a slip of paper - no prizes.
Is it Valerie or her silly bespectacled sister Henri (nicely played by Jane Shakespeare)? Or perhaps it’s cynical wheelchair-bound Willy (Duncan MacInnes), camp English detective writer Charles (Jeremy Lloyd-Thomas) or nasty business mogul Adrian Lloyd-James). Everyone has plenty of motive.
A clever set (designed by Geoff Gilder) keeps you guessing almost as much as the plot.
Apart from the statutory drinks supply, this is a long way from Durbridge country; and, despite the overt reminders of Dame Agatha, much less formulaic.
And it’s entirely enjoyable.
Henri: Jane Shakespeare.
Charles: Jeremy Lloyd Thomas.
McKenzie: Jo Castleton.
Elwood: Adrian Lloyd-James.
Valerie: Karen Henson.
Willy: Duncan MacInnes.
Director: Patric Kearns.
Designer: Geoff Gilder.
Lighting: Mark Pritchard.
2008-08-20 02:05:41