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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Black Coffee
Dudley Little Theatre
Netherton Arts Centre
**** THE days of amateur detectives popping up
to solve murders, or Scotland Yard detectives, who just happened to be
in the area, taking on juicy cases leaving the local plods directing
traffic or whatever, are long gone, if they ever existed at all. But when Agatha
Christie wrote Black Coffee in 1929, her first play incidentally, the
idea of gentile amateur detectives, such as Belgian sleuth Hercule
Poirot or the irrepressible Miss Marple were as accepted as much a part
of middle class life as the likes of
Just William. No one had actually come across them or even knew
anyone who had but they existed happily in an idyllic world people
aspired to, just as it was accepted that solving any crime beyond drunk
and disorderly was beyond a dim witted provincial force and needed the
expertise of some celebrity sleuth of the yard. The trick for any company 87 years on is to avoid
making the play appear old fashioned and dated, which in truth it is
with its foreign spies and stolen formula, and Dudley manage that
magnificently. The whole thing is treated as a period piece which gives
it a life and sparkle while director Andrew Rock has engendered a decent
pace – which is needed in a play hitting two and a half hours. Tony Stamp takes the
honours as Hercule Poirot. This is a part made all the more difficult by
the 70 episodes of Agatha Christie’s
Poirot on TV with David Suchet making
such an indelible mark as the Belgian sleuth –
Black Coffee
incidentally was the only Christie Poirot story not covered by the TV
series. There is a danger of aping Suchet in a sort of
karaoke performance but Stamp is his own man, or Belgian in this case.
As pernickety as ever he keeps up a splendid accent and precise gestures
creating his own convincing character, saving what is a rather tenuous
plot. He is well supported by Kevin W Stanley as
Captain Hastings, his rather up market and charmingly dim right hand
man. The story is simple. Sir Claud Amory, amateur
inventor, played with splendid gruffness by John Lucock, has had a
formula for a new atomic weapon stolen between the start an Not that Sir Claud is going to be able to avail
himself of the service as he croaks of very unnatural causes just as the
good detective arrives. Which leaves the family and guests as suspects.
There is Lucia Amory, played as a bag of nerves by Rebecca Clee. She has
Italian blood, which is always good for suspicion, and a terrible secret
to boot. These days it would have given her celebrity status, in 1930
when the play was first produced, it meant shame.
Then there is her humourless husband Richard,
played by James Silvers, and Sir Claud’s fussy and talkative sister
Caroline, played and knitted in that slightly dotty way of Christie’s
maiden aunts by Jennie Stanley. Adding a hint of femininity – Christie did not do
sex appeal – is the more flighty Barbara, Sir Claud’s niece, played by
Sophie Waterfield in a living for today performance and showing a nice
line in 1930’s seduction which had Hasting all aquiver in his tank top,
and again at the younger end we have Edward Raynor, Sir Claud’s
secretary and assistant, played in studious manner by Charles Adey. When it comes to suspects though we have Dr
Carelli, played bya Ray Curran whoa musta bea guilty as he is a Johnny
foreigner. Obvious init. Curran is another keeping up a consistent
accent as the dubious doc. Then there is the real doc, Dr Graham, played in
country GP style by Andrew Parkes who manages an overnight post mortem
to reveal poisoning the following day and an inquest the day after that
- things moved fast in 1930. At that rate the murderer would be tried
and hanged by the end of the week. Not only that he gets into detective mode as
well, seems they were all at it, questioning suspects as a sort of GP
CSI division. Not to worry though, here come the real police in
the shape of Insp Japp of the Yard, of course, with a hint of working
class, lower orders from Mike Kelly. Japp happened to be in the area
clearing up another case the locals presumably couldn’t manage so pops
in with PC Johnson, played by Claire Hetherington, to solve this one on
his way home. So with servants Tredwell and Fyllch, played by
Louise Redd and Ellis Daker, hovering around we have all the contestants
in the who did in Sir Claud competition. It’s a game the involves the formula for an
atomic weapon – beating the Manhatten Project by 15 years – a beautiful,
international spy for hire, a son deep in debt, a dodgy foreigner –
aren’t they all in Christie plots, apart from Poirot, of course, and she
didn’t actually like him – and a wife with foreign blood who could be in
cahoots with the fully fledged, so probably guilty, real foreigner. It is all typical Christie with more red herrings
than a Grimsby fish market as Poirot unravels the secrets and sub plots
to find the real killer who is . . . you have until Saturday to find
out. Phil Sheffield has done a fine job on period
costumes, all very 1930s, while the set builders have done a good job on
an effective and convincing library set. The strong cast are all believable and, despite
an iffy plot, build up the tension nicely through to the end. All in all
it is a fine production to be enjoyed by anyone who likes a good
mystery. To 24-09-16. Roger Clarke 21-09-16 |
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d
end of dinner so, naturally, has called in Poirot to investigate – who
is due to arrive within moments. That’s service for you.