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Clues make way for laughs
Fatal attraction: Insp Pratt (David Callister) with Blodwyn Morgan (Katy Manning), who knows the future, Enzo Garibaldi (Leslie Gratham), who knows the past and Nancy Allwright (Michelle Hardwick) who isn't who she seems . . . all very confusing for prize prat Pratt Death by Fatal Murder Lichfield Garrick **** MY immediate
reflections on Ian Dickens' production of Death by Fatal Murder were a
jolly entertaining spoof murder mystery with plenty of laughs, a great
cast who delivered a polished performance and the audience really liked
the show. The tale, one of the Peter Gordon's Inspector Pratt trilogy, takes place during during WWII. A local constable has gone missing and is presumed dead. Enter the bumbling, mumbling, incompetent and accident prone Inspector Pratt (by name and by nature) admirable over-egged by David Callister somewhat in the style of Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby; much to the relief of amateur sleuth Miss Maple (Ingrid Evand), who for reasons of her own would prefer that Pratt doesn't find out who the killer is and why he killed. Pratt is drafted in to solve the case which he
does with the help of the bright and ambitious Constable Thompkins
(Christopher Elderwood).
Act One opens with the shortest of scenes and the story unfolds in the guests' sitting room in the East wing of the country manor, Bagshot House but there aren't many clues along the way and when all is finally revealed in Act Two the story is so complicated and convoluted I wasn't sure that I could keep awake long enough to find out. However, there was excellent comedy
throughout and many slapstick moments. There was much hilarity
with both cast and audience in Act Two when things didn't go according
to plan with the nettle tea and Pratt had an altercation with the
scenery. The lady cast members did shine. The star of the show for me was Katy Manning as Blodwyn Morgan the cookie clairvoyant. Her impressive possessions by Dougal McDougal, Colonel Craddock, et al is fascinatingly funny particularly when she talks in tongues. Nicola Weeks gave and energetic performance as
Ginny Farquar, the endearingly, horsey land ‘gel' helping with the
‘sprites, Brussels sprites'. Michelle Hardwick is the prettily
secretive ‘wife' to one of Churchill's ‘few', the
no-longer-missing-in-action, Squadron Leader ‘Stiffy' Allwight (Richard
Gibson) We see disappointingly little of Grantham as
Italian lodger Enzo Garibaldi. Big billing, very small part and there
isn't much he could do with the few lines he had but he was an
impressive corpse. To 08-10-11 Lynda Ford
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