DEATH
BY FATAL MURDER
Ian
Dickens Productions at the Civic THeatre
10.10.11
Peter
Gordon's affectionate spoof – part of his popular Pratt trilogy –
sets out its stall in the title. Much more farce than thriller, with
plot twists galore, it mercilessly pokes fun at a classic genre.
This
time we're in the dark days of the Battle of Britain, with
land-girls, an enemy alien, and the country house reduced to taking
in paying guests in the West Wing.
The
first “fatal murder” bumps off Constable Atkins, and brings the
bumbling Inspector Pratt [David Callister, making the most of his
malapropisms and slick slapstick] and his sidekick, the capable
Constable Thompkins [Christoper Elderwood] to the house, closely
followed by Ingrid Evans' meddlesome Miss Maypole. These performances
are laugh-aloud fun, as are Katy Manning's very Welsh medium Blodwen,
Nicola Week's upper-crust land-girl and Richard Gibson's “Stiffy”
Allwright, a Baderesque fighter pilot shot down in the drink.
Big
name Leslie Grantham does a nice job in what is really a cameo –
the lubricious gigolo Garibaldi.
Though
of course not all of these characters are what they seem ...
It's
a time-honoured tradition to have everyone stand around while the
loose ends are tied up, but 20 minutes was beyond a joke, I felt,
especially for such an improbable dénouement.
Death
By Fatal Murder was directed by Ian Dickens.
