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Friday, October 31, 2008, 07:30
A assortment of guests contemplate log fires and pantomimes, only to be shocked by their number decreasing one by one with mysterious deaths.
But who's behind the murders – the lonely dead mother's loving son, the proprietors with money worries or a mysterious ghost of a top music hall performer, the harlequin-costumed Jemmy Junkins?
All is (sort of) revealed by the end of this badly-written thriller from Norman Robbins. While the cast battle bravely on yet another top set from the group, with stand-out performers Nigel Smith as the erasable moneyed Lionel Reece and Sara Gration as Peak Lodge co-owner Sally Lockwood, some cast members add to the confusion by not knowing their lines.
It's a wordy tale that needs timing and explanation. The ever-increasing number of prompts spoil the flow to the point where no one knows whodunit, why they did and how events will transpire.
I hope that the cast will get their act together over the next couple of days and make this production memorable for all the right reasons. Allestree have done it in the past, and I'm sure they can do it again.
Andy Potter
At The Sign of the Crippled Harlequin, until tomorrow (7.45pm) at St Nicholas' Church Hall, Allestree. Tickets £6. Call 01332 556029.
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