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MURDEROUS MELODIES
Opus 8
Forest Arts Centre
New Milton
June 2003

THERE are those occasions when you simply watch a show and others where you cannot help being drawn into the sheer enjoyment of it all. Opus 8’s concerts always fall into the latter category, and with this latest production they have surpassed even their own exceptional standard.
The story centres round the fact that theatrical impresario Myles Kingston Smythe has been shot, stabbed, strangled and poisoned – in short, murdered. Who did it? By the end of the evening you’ll have met all 29 suspects but you’ll have laughed so much that you just won’t care who’s guilty.
All the characters – including ballet dancers Megan and Ivor Bolarcough, Spanish singers Marguarita and Pepe Maraca, hairdressers Raymond and Marlon and welly-booted, cardigan-clad ladies the Hon Honoria Hammer and Ms Tessie Tonge – are brilliantly portrayed by Glinys Luff, Helen Barrington, Paul Barrington and Bryan Newman. And the musical content is truly eclectic, ranging from Goldfinger, Viva Espana and Coloured Lights to We’ll Gather Lilacs, No Regrets and the Skye Boat Song.
It’s an inspired, totally unique concept, enhanced, as ever, by accompanist John Aveyard and wonderful sets and costumes. But it’s the sheer talent of the performers that makes the evening such a joy.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
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