Miss Marple brings her dry wit and sleuthing genius to the stage in a classic Christie offering, superbly presented.
His Majesty’s Theatre is the appropriately Edwardian venue for the Perth instalment of this touring production. With a set calculated to evoke the time and slightly toffy pretentions of Christie’s novels, a careful choice of make up, hairstyles and costuming sets a genteel world where wealth is pursued through the time-tested method of marriage, or, failing that, convoluted pathways of inheritance that can lead to murder.
A murder is announced via notice in the Gazette of the village of Chipping Cleghorn – it will be at 6.30pm, Friday 13th October, at the house of Lettie Blacklock, an unfailingly pleasant gentlewoman. Miss Blacklock’s household, made up of her niece Julia and nephew Patrick, the widowed Mrs Philippa Haymes, the mildly muddled Miss Dora Bunner (affectionately known as ‘Bunny’) and the excitably foreign Mitzi, are perplexed and petrified, to varying degrees. Miss Marple calls in to ask whether the notice is for a game (having temporarily left St Mary Mead to stay with the local vicar, her nephew, while she attends to vague old-womanly health complaints), and promises to try to attend.
The characters’ interwoven back stories gradually play out, with Miss Marple’s beady eyes never missing a detail. There are murders, near misses, odd furniture discrepancies, an hysteric maid servant, nosy neighbours, young people in love, polite bickering, questions of identities and a jovially sarcastic police inspector trying to get to the bottom of it all. With this all occurring in the cosy milieu of the early-to-mid 20th Century English village of Agatha Christie’s imagination, fans of the books and numerous screen adaptations will find plenty to love.
Sonia Todd’s portrayal of Lettie Blackwood is well-paced through the dramatic events that continue to disturb her otherwise placid existence. Deidre Rubenstein relishes her role as Bunny, the old friend and companion teetering on the brink of losing her marbles, realising the potential humour but also the pathos of the character. She sparks well against Victoria Haralabidou’s Mitzi, a role calling for all the histrionics suppressed by the stolidly British parts. As humorous relief, Haralabidou takes Mitzi’s foreign flamboyance to fill the stage with melodramatic emotion. Libby Munro, Elizabeth Nabben, James Beck and Jamie Kristian play the young people, providing more than good looks with their snide remarks, quick jibes at each other and ambiguous loyalties. Inspector Craddock is played by Mark Lee, wearily tolerant of the main character’s interference and earnest in his determination to solve the case.
Judi Farr as Miss Marple is a delight. She takes each facet of the mild-mannered spinster and brings them to life, allowing the well-loved heroine of the novels to come to life before us. Her angular features quiver with excitement as she quietly solves every layer of the many mysteries of the residents of Chipping Cleghorn. Her actions and observations are discussed in an excited buzz during the interval, as a whole audience of would-be amateur sleuths pit their wits against hers in a race to the final curtain.
Beautifully presented, strongly scripted, compellingly acted – A Murder is Announced is an engaging production which entertains, on many levels, throughout.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A Murder is Announced – A Miss Marple Mystery
Book by Agatha Christie
Adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon
Presented by Michael Coppel, Louise Withers, Linda Bewick by arrangement with Mousetrap Ltd London
Directed by Darren Yap
Composer & Music Supervisor: Max Lambert
Sound Effects Design: David Tonion
Costume & Hair Design: Suzy Strout
Lighting Design: Matt Cox
Set Design: Linda Bewick
Performed by James Beck, Carmen Duncan, Robert J Edwards, Judi Farr, Victoria Haralabidou, Jamie Kristian, Mark Lee, Libby Munro, Elizabeth Nabben, Deidre Rubenstein and Sonia Todd
His Majesty’s Theatre, Hay St, Perth
www.ticketek.com.au
5 – 19 March
