We haven’t been to Gryphon Theatre for what seems like ages…in fact the last time I was there was probably as a volunteer during the Fringe last year. The theatre is mainly used by Wellington Repertory Theatre and Stagecraft, both small theatrical companies. Murdered To Death is put on by WRT.
We decided to go for dinner at The Old Quarter beforehand, as they do a good range of Vietnamese dishes which can be mixed and matched. We had dumplings, salmon and prawn parcels, noodles and barbecued chicken. This time we’d taken the precaution of ordering drinks and making sure they’d actually arrived before ordering food – last time we were there our cocktails arrived halfway through the food service.
The theatre is a short walk away along Eva Street to Ghuznee Street, and we were there comfortably in time. There’s no allocated seating so there was a little bit of a scrum at the beginning as the show was sold out – indeed, I think it pretty well sold out for all of its short run.
The play is a pastiche, a lampoon of the country house murder whodunnit genre as popularised by Agatha Christie. Instead of a 1930s house, the setting has been updated to the 1980s, for no apparent reason other than to allow more modern costumes to be worn. Following the murder of the house’s owner, the assembled cast, who’ve arrived for a weekend house party, are variously exposed as having a motive for her murder. Acting Inspector Pratt arrives, with his trusty constable Thomkins, battling against the odds and his own incompetence to uncover the murderer. There’s a Miss Maple, a Frenchman, a colonel and a butler.
Yes, it’s as silly as it sounds, but it’s all good fun, the murderer is finally revealed (not by the clueless Pratt), and we can all cheer.
No comments:
Post a Comment