A Murder Is Announced

Reporter: Colin Meredith
Date online: 12 June 2008

On a miserable November night in Milnrow it was very easy to forget the present day and be transported back to the 1950's for MADS latest Agatha Christie murder mystery. With the help of Bill Pattinson and his team who had produced an effective period piece of a set, the actors really looked at home in their comfortable surroundings. I'll set the scene. In Little Paddocks, Chipping Cleghorn, a motley selection of young guests have been staying with Letitia Blacklock and her simple childhood friend Bunny.

Elsewhere in the village Miss Marple has come to stay with her niece. It's the morning of Friday the 13th. Our initial introduction to the visitors was led by the impressive Margaret Hopkinson as Letitia Blacklock very much the lady of the village. When the announcement of a murder is spotted in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette we're off into a Whodunnit! which is laced with lies and false trails. There's even a foreign maid Mitzi who adds a certain je ne sais quoi to her cooking played by Christine Simpson.

By the end of the first scene we are left to mull over what we've heard and seen. It's great fun as this Mistress of Mystery exploits the social necessities of those times when doors were rarely locked, legacies appeared in wills and you might inherit a fortune. Sheila Maxson looked every bit a Miss Marple, convincing us she was always one step ahead of the detectives.

This cast who show their acting abilities well are to be congratulated for complimenting each other as their true characters were revealed. Maureen Davenport as the dippy Bunny added some comedy to the growing tension. Under the direction of Andy McKay and a design with a pleasing period feel, this was entertainment to puzzle over. The twists kept you from solving it too soon and we all saw the solution in the end in time honoured fashion.

A Murder Is Announced
Milnrow Amateur Dramatic Society
St James School, Milnrow