Death By Fatal Murder

Nancy Allwright	....................	Carol O'Connor
Ginny Farquhar	....................	Samantha Merrick
Constable Thomkins	....................	Mike Liassides
Inspector Pratt	....................	Dave Holden
Miss Joan Maple	....................	Ann Burfoot
Bedwyn Morgan	....................	Stuart Gladwell
Enzo Garibaldi	....................	Zahir White
Squadron Leader Roger (Stiffy) Allwright	....................	Mike McCaffrey

Well, no rest for the wicked...Spring production, as always, carries straight on into the Summer one without much of a break! Still, we're used to that by now and it keeps us out of mischief, which can only be a good thing.
So, here we are with the third in an occasional series of mysteries starring the indomitable Inspector Pratt (who would - were he slightly more competent - be a British equivalent of Clouseau) somewhat on the case in the heart of wartime England.
We have done the previous two in the series: Murdered to Death back in 1994, with the equally indomitable Ken Frost as Pratt and Secondary Cause Of Death in 2001, where Dave took the honours he will be reprising here. I was, ahem, privileged to play dodgy French art dealer Pierre and German/Polish spy Count Pavel Puchlik in the earlier productions - at least Thomkins doesn't have an accent...!
It should be a lot of fun, though: these are not plays to be taken altogether seriously and rehearsals promise to be an entertaining experience even at this early stage...

Rehearsals are now well under way for "Death by Fatal Murder". We have got through the tedious part of scene setting and working out moves and positioning and can now get down to the real work. The cast are now beginning to get to grips with their lines and, surprisingly, are up to schedule (perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon as it can all go horribly wrong !). I am pleased with the progress we have made so far although with several holidays looming we need to crack on and keep up the good work.

As Mike has said, this is the third play in Peter Gordon's "Pratt" series and as usual the action is centred on Bagshot Manor, an impoverished country house during the war years. This is the site of dastardly happenings and murder most foul. Consequently, the blundering Inspector Pratt is sent to investigate (he being the last resort as all other officers are away doing war work). Creating havoc wherever he sets his size nines and completely misreading every situation he attempts to interrogate the occupants of the house. These are a diverse bunch of characters: Nancy, the owner of the Manor, has a secret of her own she does not want revealed, Roger, her injured R.A.F. pilot husband and Ginny, an upper crust Land Girl. Then there are the two lodgers: Bedwyn, a very Welsh phoney medium intent on holding a seance and Enzo, a very dodgy Italian. All have their own reasons for keeping quiet. Trying to keep Pratt on the straight and narrow is the ever-patient, long-suffering Constable Thomkins and Miss Joan Maple, a local busybody and amateur detective whose very presence on the scene heralds the demise of some poor unsuspecting soul.

Cast and crew are finding this a fun play to rehearse with plenty of laughs although I'm sure the humour will wear off after constant repetition. Everyone seems to be throwing themselves into their parts with enthusiasm. In fact, Dave was going to have a rest on this production* but when Inspector Pratt reared his head, he jumped at the chance to reprise his role. We are having a great time with some splendid accents. Zahir seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself with his over the top Italian womaniser and Stuart is a revelation with his full-blown `from the valleys` Welsh. He also needs to perfect a crusty English Colonel voice and a `see you Jimmy `Scots. Not an easy task but I have no doubt he will manage.

I hope this has whetted your appetite for our July production. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

* Editors note: As covered elsewhere, this is quite unlikely for a variety of reasons!

First Photos - Mike 26/05/09

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...the cast. Amazingly, all together on a single rehearsal night...

Left to right and in order of appearance: Carol (as Nancy Allwright), Samantha (as Virginia Farquhar), Mike (as Constable Thomkins), Dave (as Inspector Pratt), Ann (as Miss Maple), Stuart (as Bedwyn Morgan), Zahir (as Enzo Garibaldi) and Mike M (as Squadron Leader Allwright).

Below is just a brief taster of the thrills, spills and entertainment you can expect to see. I'm sure there's no need to point out that there will be costumes, and a set, to add that frisson of authenticity, too.

Inspector Pratt arrives, having just run over Miss Maple in the driveway	Miss Maple, patently, is not amused...!
Interrogation of the suspects begins, Pratt-style...	...more suspects (face it, it's a whodunnit - everyone's a suspect)...
...and mostly, Pratt is baffled by them. It is mutual.	Mr. and Mrs. Squadron Leader Allwright share a brief moment of marital non-bliss.

Rehearsals are now well underway, with most of the cast having mastered their lines for act one. The actors are now at the point where characterisations can be explored and facial expressions (and sideways glances, as well as quite a lot of tutting at Pratt's stupidity) can be added.
A large amount of props are now being used and - thanks to Clare - most of the costumes have been organised. Over the next week or so, the emphasis will fall on act 2 and let's hope rehearsals will be as successful for this as they have been for act 1.
Keep up the good work, everybody!

Evening all.

I knew when I was asked to go to Bigshat Hows for a second case I would have another chance to prove my worth as a Defective Inspector.

They normally keep me down at the station doing paperwork. The Chief Superintendent says I keep the local recycling plant busy. I can only assume they print up my notes.

However, given the chance I thoroughly enjoy playing my past in solving a mystery. It would be so much better if Miss Mypile's sister wasn't there to hinder me. And I am very superstitious about all the other characters involved apart from my trussed constable Timson. An eiffel sloth in the uptake but he gets there in the end.

I'm quite pleased with the way my investigation is processing, despite all the endurances posted by my fellow pliers. The case should be well and truly closed by the time you are ready to appreciate my efforts.

We are photographing all the suspects this Saturday so watch out next week for the preview of the precedings. I do hope you can pretend the show. I predicate a good crime will be had by all.

Mind how you go.

George Pratt

As the man - my boss, the unlikely Inspector Pratt - says, it's the photocall this weekend. Always a pleasure, squeezing a bunch of cast members and costumes into a confined space in the name of publicity. This time, we'll be in the olde-worlde Gun Inn, in a selection of olde-worlde costumes that mainly smell of mothballs and age. Wardrobe Mistress Clare, temporarily on executive producer duties while Mary takes a holiday (and why not...), tells us we're all peculiarly-shaped and very difficult to outfit. I think she must mean the others, though - I've been quite successfully wearing clothes for over forty years now. And if you should ever need to cast a play with plenty of thin people clad entirely in black (particularly one that absolutely has to have as wide a variety of Scandiwegian death metal band T-shirts on display as possible), look no further than here. She may have a small point on some of the more obscure items of theatrical costumery, though - I find it difficult to supply things like shirts, suits, shoes, any number of other things beginning with "s"...and, of course, any part of a 1940s policeman's uniform. It has, in fact, just dawned on me that, despite Clare's creation of a resplendent jacket and my mail order trousers (with braces, no less), I haven't actually got any footwear. Oh, well. Expect the press photos won't go down that low, anyway.

The other good thing about the photocall - besides the opportunity to point out to people: "Look, that's me, in the world-famous and widely-circulated Worthing Herald!" - is that it reminds one how close the production is. Three weeks and counting. An excellent wake-up call to pay attention, learn lines and do all those many other jobs that have been put off on the grounds that it's still months away and nothing to worry about. Hmmm. Time to go to work, methinks.

Well, looks like I was wrong about the photocall. In the sense that personal circumstances intervened, meaning I didn't go anyway. Still, the Worthing Herald did us proud, with a large part of the centre-page spread devoted to our forthcoming production. As ever, the fact that it is excerpted here should not prevent anyone from buying their own copy for posterity and - of course - to keep up on local news.

And just because we can, here are some more pics from last week's rehearsals. Note the use of real furniture, real props and - in some cases - real acting. There will be more of all of those things, come the glorious day.

Oh, and just very briefly, a secret of stage - ever wondered what the worst thing about it is? Some would probably say stage fright, or losing props, forgetting lines, even learning lines in the first place. Personally, I vote for stage lights. In the middle of a high summer heatwave, 'tis surely madness to put on a full period costume and voluntarily stand beneath several thousand watts of concentrated, blinding luminosity. Luckily, there's not too much time to worry about the savage glare, as most of your attention is focussed on trying not to be boiled alive (and we already know how hot this one's going to be, having suffered just rehearsing in T-shirts and suchlike)...

I am pleased to report that we are well on track and, with a little more polishing - lines, lines, lines - our audience should be in for a real summer treat. We have great costumes and props and we are due to embark on the set-build next week. I am always amazed how talented our members are in working together to make the productions so successful with attention to detail at the heart of everything we do.

Keep up the good work everyone and keep up the pace!

Progress Report! - Mary 07/07/09

When I undertook the production of 'Fatal Murder', I knew I had a two week holiday booked at a vital time in our rehearsal schedule. So it was with some concern that I left the cast at a crucial stage in our progress. Fortunately Clare B stepped in to take over 'cracking the whip' to keep everyone in order.

Things had been going reasonably well before I went, but there was quite a bit of work still to be done, so it was with some trepidation that I approached the Monday rehearsal on my return. I could see immediately that everyone had not been slacking and lots of progress had been made (thanks Clare - you must have used that whip well!). Characterisation has been refined and works well. Lines seem to be learned and moves remembered. Mostly!!

The thing we now need to work on is the set pieces that rely on effects and technical expertise. Unfortunately, some of these can not be sorted until we have our technical rehearsal next Sunday. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything will come together as planned.

Rehearsals for this play have been good fun and I can only thank the cast, crew and helpers for giving me their support and hope the end result gives everyone a good laugh.

So, this is it. A weekend of set building, rehearsal yesterday, a night off tonight, then dress rehearsal Wednesday and the play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Bit late for second thoughts (if anyone would like some) - in fact, a bit late for anything except scrounging together the last few bits and pieces to make the show happen!
Speaking of which, I'm just off to pick up the pyrotechnics - good excuse for a pleasant ride over to Kave in Burgess Hill. In the meantime, this is how the set comes together:

Come along later this week and find out how we're going to use what we've built...

Once again, Inspector Pratt arrives, having just run over Miss Maple in the driveway	Mrs Allwright and Ginny Farquhar tend to Miss Maple
Mrs Allwright and Constable Thompkins (oh, yes, there'll be real costumes too)	Inspector Pratt and Mr Morgan
Introducing Mr Garibaldi...	...and Squadron Leader Allwright
One of the really good bits. Not giving anything away.	The cast...!

Early Saturday evening - carpet down and a start at assembling the back wall	Later Saturday evening - starting to take shape
That's enough for the Saturday, with about 2/3 of the box completed	And on to Sunday morning, with pretty much all the building work finished
Sunday lunchtime (a late lunch, to be fair)...	...and all the relevant bits are assembled to make a front room

Archives - July 2009