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WHODUNNIT
New Forest Players
Memorial Hall
New Milton
April 2004

I NEVER was much good at solving murder mysteries, so even though I had seen this play before and remembered quite clearly who the murderer was, I failed to pick up a single one of the clues that we, the audience, were asked to look out for by the well-disguised voice of the perpetrator that came over the tannoy at frequent intervals.
And yet they were there all right, in this curious mix of thriller and comedy set at an isolated country house, and in which almost no-one is quite who they seem.
Gillian Pitt’s production initially appeared to have missed its mark, with a few too many hesitant lines and unintentional mishaps, but it soon got into its stride and by the second act was almost like a different play entirely – and not just because of the plot.
Most of the cast coped admirably with the necessity of playing what amounted to two completely separate characters, with particularly effective performances from Michael Snell (Archibald Perkins), Clive Rigden (Rear Admiral Knatchbull Folliat), Natasha Ogilvie (Lady Tremurrain) and Judy Spooner (Dame Edith Runcible).
And Neil Gwynne excelled as the somewhat unconventional detective, Inspector Bowden, and was well supported by his wide-eyed Sergeant, Joanne Geraghty.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo


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