An Ill Wind

Join us on 17 or 18 June 2022 at 7.45pm

An Ill Wind

Bookings:  Box Office Online
or
via Phone 07956 136 750

GBP 12.00 per person – or book a table!

WADS MURDER MYSTERY – AN ILL WIND.

The old proverb, ‘An ill wind blows nobody any good’ might have been an apt description of the plot in Rosemary House’s murder mystery, performed by the WADs on 18^th and 19^th June; but it turned out to be a favourable wind which blew-in an appreciative audience who left thoroughly entertained, still discussing how they failed to piece the clues together correctly. To perform this particular play in the round added to the atmosphere – it was like actually being in the play and this feeling was enhanced when, between scenes, the actors (still in character) moved around the tables to answer our questions.

All the sinister ingredients of a dark deed and its aftermath were evident from the start, but though it was ‘murder most foul’ it was a light-hearted piece and the actors wasted no opportunity to make us laugh. There was a tyrannical, philandering, irascible family patriarch, Sir Henry, played with aplomb by John Worsfold. Was it any wonder that his was a truly dysfunctional family? Every member had good reason to kill him and, of course, the inevitable happened.

His wife, Lady Gloria (Heather Simpson), played nicely with the diffidence of a wronged wife, pretending not to care, but cut to the quick by his affair with her sister. Was this the last straw?

Exelcsia, Lady Gloria’s sister, was forced to realise she was just another conquest and never likely to replace her sister as Sir Henry’s wife. Susan Clark gave a plausible performance in this part.

The Cook, Doris, whose husband had died in an accident at work as the result of Sir Henry’s arrogance and negligence, had a strong revenge motive. A credible Irish accent enhanced a strong performance by Helen Coyne.

The star turns came from the prime suspects, Sir Henry’s son, Percival and his fiancée, Lucretia. Terry Sopp used the full range of his undoubted skills to give us the foppish, naïve, love-struck Percival and Natalia Ruiz-Moreno was marvellous, complete with authentic accent, as the mysterious and scheming Russian beauty.

Why did Sir Henry threaten to cut Percival from his will if he married Lucretia? Had the chance meeting which led to the romance really been coincidental? Did she truly love Percival or was she just seeking an opportunity for revenge over a wrong done to her father, Boris, by Sir Henry? Was there any significance in the murder weapon, a Russian sword? Also, in a late twist to the plot we found out that Excelsia was actually Lucretia’s mother. Confused? So were we!

There had to be a full investigation, enter Marcia Spiers with a tongue-in-cheek performance as Inspector Cleverley, whose stock phrase to each character in true British crime fiction tradition was, ‘I put it to you that’!

Then came the time for each group to deliberate. Which of these characters, murdered Sir Henry and what was the most compelling piece of evidence to support our conclusion?  Most of us got it wrong and we kicked ourselves for somehow ignoring what we had earlier identified as a really obvious clue.

It didn’t matter anyway! As ever, we went home smiling, still discussing the pros and cons of the case and singing the praises of the wonderful WADs. What a great group for the village to call its own. Long may they prosper, they must not be allowed to fade away.

Whodunnit? You don’t think I’m going to tell you that, do you? They might want to do it again in a few years-time. I hope so!

SP

The Cast from an Ill Wind