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One way of staging a killing
A murder has been arranged Wolverhampton Grand *** THE final play in Ian Dickens’ quartet in
the summer season never seemed to make up its mind if it was a murder
mystery, a thriller or a ghost story. It rather failed on the first in that we knew who
the killer was and never got going on the second as there was no real
fear or suspense. As for the ghost story . . . the ghost was some
poor lass on the way to a meeting who was unwittingly dragged into the
affair for forces beyond the comprehension of mere mortals to fulfil the
terms of an ancient prophesy about what happened if you happened to have
a murder in the St James’s Theatre in London. Rather unkindly the author has the innocent young
lady’s life snuffed out which seemed a somewhat unfair reward for her
doing her bit for for prophesy. The play is billed as a “terrifying edge of your
seat thriller, set in London in the 1930s ”which is pushing it a bit. The story is simple, Sir Charles Jasper is due to
inherit £2 million - not to be sneezed at now and a King’s ransom in
1938. There is a snag though, he has to survive until
11pm on the evening of his 40th birthday or the money goes to his
distant relative Maurice Austin Mullins. Sir Charles, who has written a book about the
ghostly goings on at the theatre and what ghostly things will happen in
the event of another murder in the theatre – sort of occult health and
safety guidelines. So when there is a murder, on stage, a week
before his birthday Sir Charles, played with suitable authority by Paul
Lavers, arranges his birthday party in the deserted theatre with his
wife, Beatrice, played with a touching innocence by Nicola Weeks and
star of the show Anita Harris as the rather socially superior, upper
class mother in law Mrs Arthur. Mrs Arthur arranged the marriage of her daughter
to Sir Charles’ money and protects both like a hawk. Then there is Miss Groze, the humorless
secretary, played by Poppy Meadows, who is not all she seems and the
delightful Mrs Wragg the cook, maid, and general dogs body wonderfully
played by Karen Ford.
Into this unhappy band, who are waiting for the
predicted terror arrives Mark Martin as Jimmy North, who just pops in to
protect Lady Jasper after meeting her at a cocktail party that week – a
likely story or what? And out of the blue old Maurice Mullins, a bright
and breezy psychopath played by ex-Coronation Street star Oliver Mellor. Now we know if Sir Charles pops his hand-made
clogs before 11pm then Maurice will inherit £2 million so it doesn’t
take a PhD in astro-physics to work out the way this particular plot is
drifting . . . and you would be right. Popping in now and again is bandleader Cavandish
(Mike Duran) who is tasked with playing in the background while Melissa
Thomas is the poor young woman dragged in by the forces of the dark side
to be sacrificed to page 120 or whatever of the prophesy in Sir Charles’
book. A clue to why she was chosen could be that her
grandfather’s mother was apparently burned as a witch on Hereford – and
as the last witch was executed in England in 1685, and that was a
hanging, longevity certainly seemed to run in the family. The production is well acted, Mrs Wragg and
Maurice in particular, has good scenery and costumes but takes an
extraordinary time to set the scene then drifts in the doldrums for a
while waiting for the clock to tick towards 11 o’clock and the fateful
hour when the unexplained and unnatural will take over. The play has its moments, and some clever twists,
such as how to get someone to unwittingly write a suicide note, but the
tension and fear factor were never enough to persuade hairs to stand up
even a little bit on the backs of necks. To 20-07-13. Roger Clarke Meanwhile going bump
in the night . . . ***
I'M still not sure whether this
intriguing Emlyn Williams play is a whodunit or did anybody do it...or
if it's really a ghost story. The audience think they have witnessed a murder
and believe they know the culprit, but the plot thickens and you wonder
if the victim is really dead. So this last drama in the Ian Dickens summer play
season at the Grand holds the attention right to the final curtain,
puzzling as the story certainly is. The action takes place on the stage of the
reputedly haunted Victorian St James Theatre in London, hired by the
eccentric Sir Charles Jasper for his 40th birthday party because he
delves into the occult, and several mystery deaths have occurred there
in the past. Paul Lavers plays Sir Jasper who, believe it or
not, will inherit £2 million if he survives till 11pm that evening, but
along comes his flamboyant nephew Maurice Mullins (Oliver Mellor,
Corrie's Dr Matt Carter) who stands to land the jackpot if uncle bites
the dust. Fine performances from Nicola Weeks as Sir
Jasper's wife, Beatrice, and Grange Hill's Karen Ford (Mrs Wragg, the
maid), while Anita Harris is still able to add a touch of glamour as Sir
Jasper's mother-in-law, Mrs Arthur. A stunning set and excellent costumes add to the
enjoyment, but the pre-show blurb about this being an edge-of-the-seat
thriller seems a touch over the top. To 20-07-13. Paul Marston
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