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| Holly Ross - Arran McKenna -Stuart Roberts - Steph Roberts - Antonia Kitzel - Glen Brighenti in "Bloody Murder" |
Written by Ed Sala – Directed by Josh Wiseman
Set designed by Josh Wiseman – Costumes designed by Suzan
Cooper
Lighting designed by Nathan Sciberras – Sound designed by Neville
Pye
Rep Theatre Nov.21 to Dec. 7th, 2024.
Performance on Nov.28th reviewed by Bill Stephens
Canberra Repertory is offering a perfect antidote for
pre-Christmas malaise with a deliciously silly but brilliantly conceived and performed
production in which the characters, rather than the actors, rebel against the
material.
The actors certainly don’t because they get the joke and
give every appearance of revelling in the opportunities offered by Ed Sala’s witty
script, to tantalise the audience with the endless farcical twists and turns.
Riffing on the popularity of Agatha Christie type murder
mysteries, Sala has concocted a play utilising the tropes associated with this
genre.
Set in the isolated country mansion of Lady Somerset whose guests
include stock characters; a retired major, a once-famous actor, a sweet
ingenue, a mysterious countess, a faithful maid, a police inspector, a passing
motorist, a nun and a worthless nephew.
Inevitably there is a murder, actually several, each
heralded with a black-out to hide the dastardly deed from the audience who wait
to find out who has survived.
It all starts off very predictably, but the brilliance of
this production is how cleverly and hilariously the expectations of the
audience are turned on their heads.
With his first production for Canberra Repertory, Josh
Wiseman has introduced himself as a director to watch. His production is meticulously
rehearsed and impressively detailed. He obviously possesses the ability to
inspire his cast and production team to offer their best work.
His setting is beautifully realised and decorated with a
collection of elegant objects that indicate the enthusiasm of his properties
team in sourcing exactly the right piece. It also tests the alertness of the
audience in noticing subtle changes to the setting the play progresses.
Susan Cooper’s stylish costumes cleverly indicate the
personality and purpose of each character, avoiding any confusion whenever one
of the carefully cast actors changes character, while thoughtful sound and
lighting contributions from Neville Pye and Nathan Sciberras add to the pleasure.
With a play that could easily have been spoilt by mugging, Wiseman
has been able to guide his actors to pitch their performances at exactly the
correct level, and, miracle of miracles, every word of dialogue was perfectly
articulated and easily heard without the actors resorting to shouting.
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| Antonia Kitzel - Glen Brighenti - Stuart Roberts - Holly Ross in "BLOODY MURDER". |
Leading the excellent cast Antonia Kitzel sets the tone and anchors the production with a strong confident performance as the indomitable Lady Somerset, leaving Steph Roberts to hog the laughs with a brilliant turn as the less-than-diligent maid, Jane.
Holly Ross manages two contrasting roles, the butter-would’nt
-melt-in-her-mouth ingenue, Emma, and the mysterious red-sequin gowned Countess,
with admirable aplomb.
Arran McKenna is suitably pompous as The Major, while Stuart
Roberts oozes louche charm as the once-famous actor, Devon Tremaine. Glenn
Brighenti does well in dual roles as Lady Somerset’s worthless nephew as well
as the ever- probing Chief Inspector Phelps.
Watching this clever sextet mine the laughs working in
perfect unison for meticulously timed pratfalls and cleverly conceived comedy
business, evidenced the attention to detail that has been lavished on this
production.
If there is a criticism it lies with the author who spends
rather too much time towards the end of the play complicating an already
complicated premise.
Apart from this quibble it would seem churlish not to rate
this superbly presented and delightfully entertaining production among those of
Rep’s best.
Photos by Ross Gould
