Murdered To Death

by Peter Gordon

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Northern Theatre Studio2
Nov 24-26 1995

Following the mysterious death of the owner of a country manor house, Inspector Pratt, hindered by well-meaning local amateur sleuth Miss Maple attempts to solve the case. Will the murderer be unmasked before the rest of the cast meet their doom?

Cast

Mildred Bagshot Val Howell
Dorothy Foxton Helen Robinson
Bunting Neal Coulman
Col. Craddock Dave Barber
Margaret Craddock Sharon Burton
Pierre Brian Caine
Elizabeth Joanne Leach
Miss Maple Jenny Stewart
Inspector Pratt Iain Buckley
Constable Thomkins Jonathan Preston

Directed by Ailsa Oliver

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Miss Maple points the finger of suspicion (at the wrong person)

Director's Commentary  This was a spoof on all the Agatha Christie things, complete with elderly female amateur sleuth, characters masquerading as experts in order to defraud, and so on. It was a lovely mickey-take on all that genre. As usual the cast were superb, underplaying the humour where it spoke for itself, but pulling out every imaginable stop where high farce was called for. I don't seem to have much in the memory banks on this one in terms of trauma, so it must have gone ok, for me at least! I do remember, however, going to see a professional production of this at New Theatre, and they weren't a patch on us, though I sez it meself! Go Chameleons!! Oh, and this was one where the author turned up. Deeply scary!! Ailsa

Author! Author!  A disguised Peter Gordon came to see this! He made himself known to us after the show and said just how interesting it was seeing different interpretations of his characters.

Quote, Unquote  Very funny. Ian was fantastic as Pratt (far funnier than Trevor Bannister in the touring production we saw later who was cruder and lost all of the humour). Another baddie. Great Sharon
Slapped and shot
Jonathan

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