The British public do seem to love a good whodunnit, which may explain why, on a bitterly cold Tuesday evening, the Devonshire Park Theatre is packed to the rafters. The main draws are, of course, that the author is Agatha Christie and that her novel, A Murder is Announced, is a crime classic that is just as popular today as it was when it was published just after World War Two.
The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are very surprised when an advertisement in The Gazette says that a murder will take place at Little Paddocks, the home of Letitia Blacklock, on the following Friday at precisely 6.30pm. Curiosity gets the better of some of the local villagers and, together with the residents of the house, a group gathers at the appointed time when, suddenly, the lights go out and a gun is fired.
This is the perfect moment for Miss Marple, (Judy Cornwell) to arrive and, as she observes the chaos around her she decides that she must assist Inspector Craddock (Tom Butcher) in his search for the culprit.
As always, the murder is only the start, and the intrigue as to what lies behind the strange advertisement, and the killer’s possible motive, soon have the audience hanging on every word to spot even the smallest clue as the house becomes the scene of intrigue, deception and more than one dark secret.
The cast work well together and, although the set is not one of the better ones, it is functional enough to fit the purpose and, if anything, the fact that it is just a one room set means that it is not a distraction from this very wordy piece.
Two notable performances among this very talented cast are from Sarah Thomas, who is quite simply brilliant as Dora “Bunny” Bunner, Letitia’s oldest friend who is sadly prone to bouts of confusion, and Lydia Piechowiak, who plays the Hungarian maid Mitzi and provides regular moments of comic genius in a story that is anything but funny.
There are a number of powerful themes of both greed and loss in this story that add depth to an already intriguing tale of murder and, as usual with Agatha Christie, it’s a tale that keeps the entire audience guessing until the last possible moment.
*** Three Stars
