THEATRE REVIEW: Cluedo - The Grand Theatre, Leeds.

Is there a name for someone who’s obsessed with a particular board game? Growing up in the 1980s I was obsessed with the board game of the same name in a massive way. There was just something exciting about playing detective and my overactive imagination dragging me into the board game like a real life Jumanji type game. I honestly could picture each and every “room” in the game and see the characters' faces, the outline of the victim drawn in chalk. This set my love of for all things “Who Dunnit?” 

The game itself is manufactured by board game giants Waddington, and was invented during WW2 by a British musician, fire warden and munitions' factory worker Anthony Pratt in his home in Birmingham. The game takes place in 'fictional' Boddy Manor, actually a real house in Rottingham, East Sussex, which was as recently as 2021, on the market for a whopping £1 million! The game became so popular that it was turned into a movie “Clue” in 1985, and became a cult classic. I personally love the film just as much as I love the board game - it even features a cameo from The Go Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin as the signing telegram.

Hard to believe that it’s taken so long to make a stage adaptation of this classic 150 million+ selling game that’s had over 29 special editions made, ranging from Harry Potter to the Simpsons. So naturally I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw that at long last my wish to see a stage production came true. This new stage play has recently premiered in the U.K, beginning it's tour in Bromley in January earlier this year, and arrived at Leeds Grand Theatre this evening, after months of me waiting in excitement. The comedy spoof stage thriller (Cluedo in the U.K. and Clue in the US), based on the best seller board game, is written by Sandy Rustin, Hunter Foster and Eric Price, and directed by Mark Bell, of the award winning “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “The Comedy About A Bank Robbery” fame.

It all happens on a stormy night when our old friends Miss Scarlett (Michelle Collins - best known for appearing in popular soaps Eastenders and Coronation Street), Professor Plum (Daniel Casey - also know for Eastenders, Coronation Street, plus Emmerdale), Mrs. Peacock (Judith Amsenga) and the rest arrive at Boddy Manor following invitations from a mysterious host…Let’s just say there’ll be tears before bedtime.

The stage set is made up of grand manor house walls adorned with various pieces of artwork, and more doors than a Jehovah's Witness training centre; all leading to the various rooms as per the board game - from the grand hall to the billiard room, the conservatory and the dining room; which has some doors which magically revolve to reveal part of one of the many grand rooms in Boddy Manor. The guests have all been sent the same mysterious invites and made to take on a pseudonym for the evening to protect their identity. They all have secrets to hide and it’s a case of TRUST NOBODY.

Greeted by the eccentric Butler, Wadsworth (Jean-Luke Worrell), the guests are soon escorted to the Dining Room after the fastest cocktail happy hour known to mankind. As they take their places around the grandly-laid table in the spacious dining room, Wadsworth joins them, along with the “French” Cook, and tells them that name cards have been placed on the table instructing them where to sit. After a quick shuffle round and everyone in their correct space, the storm outside clashes loud thunder and it’s not long before the guests start to feel uncomfortable and start having terrifying visions of murder.  Once dinner is over, Wadsworth soon presents them all with gifts in aptly colour coded boxes (red for Miss Scarlett etc etc). In each box is a murder weapon - as Wadsworth goes on to explain that they’re all invited by the mystery host Mr Boddy (of Boddy Manor) as he has been blackmailing them all for different reasons and he warns them that nobody is safe. It doesn’t take long for disaster to strike and then they pair off as told my Wandsworth to stick to their partner “that way if one of you dies we’ll at least know who the murderer is”.

From start to finish the play is full of gags (particularly political ones), slapstick comedy, and nail-biting suspense. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the revolver? Was Colonel Mustard looking for revenge with the lead piping in the billiard room? This new play feels like a fresh new idea yet somehow recreates the excitement and anticipation I got from playing the board game as a child. The stage set might appear simplistic at first glance but as the many doors are opened as the plot unravels, we are transported into a 1940's country manor house in all its splendour. A simple concept with few additional props needed, but the set and cast really did make you feel like you were in some historic countryside manor on a stormy night, helping them find the murderer.

The cast manage to time comical moments perfectly, with Worrell in particular having the audience in stitches throughout his performance. There’s no weak cast member - and whilst Collins and Casey are naturally entertaining to watch, it was Worrell who really had the audience captivated throughout the show. Definitely one to watch out for in future and I’d love to see him in other comedy roles - I think he’d make an excellent Frank in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

I can’t really say much else without giving anything away, although one thing I will say is that part of me suspects the culprit might be a different person depending on what day of the week the performance is. Because, just like the board game, there’s so many variations of possibilities (324 to be precise) that it would be more interesting if things did get mixed up a bit throughout the run. Tonight my childhood dream came true and I finally got to see the game played out live in front of me. It certainly did not disappoint and I was ready to start the game all over again by the end of the night.

Reviewer - Charlotte Davis-Browne
on - 22.3.22