Soup Productions invite you to Cadberry Manor, home of rich eccentric Sir Toby Le Rone, who ends up dead soon after the start. The setting for this murder mystery is an open stage with a fairly minimal set; not quite the luxurious setting for a manor but the backdrop of flats, incorporating a large fireplace and a bay window, there is at least the suggestion of a large country house. What the plays lacks in staging however, it certainly makes up in cast numbers, with one character even asking at one point ‘can we get any more people onto this stage?’ The answer was probably not without some difficulty but the writers would have been well advised not to have had so many of the cast always on stage at the same time (rarely ever less than ten!).
In keeping with the title, all the characters have names related to chocolate bars which gives a clue to this being a farce. Unfortunately, the pace is rarely more than that of a plodding comedy and there are a number of reasons for this. With a cast of fifteen, it is almost as if they take it in turns to let just one or two of their number leave the stage and when characters do return, it is usually not with much dramatic effect. One of the hallmarks of farce, is regular fast-moving entrances and exits. Another factor with this play is that with everyone almost invariably speaking in front of an audience around ten people, it is hard for pace to develop or serious engagement with individual characters to develop. A lot of the comedy is also very forced, having more in common with pantomime than farce or comedy/thrillers. Real farce requires a level of sophistication that is lacking in the script of Murder At Cadberry Manor. There are also several long speeches, even soliloquies, which slow down the pace (and the comedy).
Let it not be said that this production of Murder At Cadberry Manor is not without some great redeeming qualities. The eclectic and energetic cast did all they could to breathe life into a largely dull and unsophisticated script. The costuming was generally of a high standard and characterisations distinctive, including some standout performances. Teresa Anderton was excellent as Felicity Flake, giving a master-class in dippy-headed obliviousness to everything going on around her. Louise Rayner gave a vibrant representation of a French waitress and Matt Orrillard was superbly deadpan as Captain Robert Lerone. Lucas Dockerty was funny as Dr Wilbur Wispa, largely because he’s ridiculously young to be cast as a crippled old man and Jay Timms as Friar Tuckshop was superbly nonchalant as a Friar with more under his cassock than you might expect. Special mention must be made of Danny Boardman who excelled as the aptly named Louis ‘the Fruit’ Pastille, as camp as Mr Humphries in ‘Are you being Served’, making an entrance worthy of Frank N Furter.
Soup Productions clearly have a lot of talent and work well as a team. The show was written by two of the cast members, who both gave creditable performances and it is in acting rather than writing that the talents of this company are most evident. With several cast members having singing and dancing talents, it would perhaps be good if some of this is used more in future productions rather just relying on weighty dialogue. That said, Murder At Cadberry Manor does have a very original and unexpected twist at the end.
Reviewers - John Waterhouse and Tony Collier
on - 26/10/18
No comments:
Post a Comment