Murder Mystery

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Click photo to enlarge.

I Spy - A Murder Mystery

A full house of 80 people were treated to the annual opportunity to test out the old "grey cells" to work out which of a very suspicious group of 11 had murdered poor Mark Ball (alias Len Farrer).

This murder mystery was the latest from the pen of that very talented local writer, Jill Rundle. This is the sixth one she has written for St Wilfrid’s Social Team and was dedicated to the memory of Sue Simcox, who starred in the previous 6 but sadly died shortly before this production.

The setting was the drawing room of Honeysuckle Manor, somewhere in Middle England in the summer of 1939. The Lord of the Manor, played with his usual gusto by the magnificent Geoff Newstead, and his many houseguests, had more than a suspicion of German connections. With a war threatened we were challenged to identify the spy and murderer amongst a group of very dubious characters.

Barbara Willoughby achieved her usual miracle by not only acting in the play but also producing a super three-course meal for the audience. Len Farrer was brilliant and word perfect as always, playing two roles. Norvel Willerton retained a persona of suspicion and a straight face despite having to introduce himself as Frank Furter. Pat Andrews made her debut as May Flower and showed that she was no wilting violet.

When Chris Pratt and Adele Steadman first started to act in these murder mysteries we saw them as children. Well, they have grown up and now provide the young glamour to the production, Chris being the handsome tennis star Dennis Racket and Adele the attractive and much travelled Apple Strudel. Avril Wells for once avoided being the murderer but had a very dodgy IRA background as Mary Murphy, and John Murray was an excellent Yankee with a cigar that almost needed two people to carry it. Carl Steadman can be relied on to throw himself into his part and he was very convincing as the Swiss writer Boris Bach, even managing to wear his monocle for most of the time.

Jill directed and narrated the play. She writes with great imagination and humour and the cast rose to the challenge to produce a splendid evening’s entertainment, rounded off with a patriotic sing-along led wonderfully by Eileen Coates accompanied by Peggy Kitching on the piano.

Same again next year, or will we have to meet demand and do two nights?