“Often Absurd, Never Dull, Always Hilarious: ‘Clue’ was an absolute riot!”
Last week ‘Clue: High School Edition’ took to the stage for three consecutive nights. With a busy schedule to compete with, the ‘Clue’ loving Drama Tech Team managed to squeeze in a game of Cluedo before the closing night. Teacher of English, Mrs Sophie Lawrence, shares the following review of the performance.
The Years Nine and Ten production captivates audiences with a farcical murder mystery set in the opulence of Boddy Manor. ‘Clue: High School Edition’ is based on the iconic Cluedo board game, with the playscript adapted from the 1985 film. Two different ensembles were cast to perform this comedy whodunnit, which is testament to the talent and enthusiasm of our Middle School actors. Buoyed by a special message of motivation from the playwright herself, Sandy Ruskin, performances began last Wednesday by delighting Lower School pupils with a special matinee production. The casts then each performed two productions: both were equally impressive; both brought their own flair and interpretation to the performances; both flourished under Mr Garrity’s excellent direction.
As thunder and lightning rage outside, the curtain lifts on a familiar setting, and the audience recognise some trademark features of the famous Cluedo board game: the billiard room, the library, the study. We are first introduced to Wadsworth the Butler, who seems uptight, overly concerned with propriety, and continuously smooths his moustache. It doesn’t take long, however, for the audience to suspect that Wadsworth may not be quite as respectable as first imagined. The doorbell chimes and our dinner guests enter, as the audience settle in for what will be a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Professor Plum, White, Mustard, Green, Peacock, Scarlett: this will be a colourful dinner party indeed.
As the eclectic guests sit down to dinner, they begin to ponder the reason for their invitation to Boddy Manor and the identity of their mysterious host – they all live in Washington DC, it transpires – but Wadsworth remains deliberately elusive. As Mr Boddy, the enigmatic host is introduced, he gleefully reveals the motive for inviting the unlikely group of dinner guests to his Manor. The audience learn that each guest has their own colourful – see what I did there? – history, and all are being blackmailed as a result. Malapropisms, misunderstandings, and puns a-plenty pepper the dialogue in subsequent scenes. A particular thanks to Colonel Mustard – Thomas Pound and Bruno Bond-Evans – for their entertaining performances, here. The fun then truly commences as each guest is gifted a weapon (how thoughtful!) and the audience cannot help but wonder: who will survive a night at Boddy Manor?
Murder! ‘Clue’ contains them in rapid succession from this point (‘Three in three minutes’, Wadsworth laments ‘that’s a new record!’) and so, the ill-fated dinner guests commence their search around Boddy Manor for the murderer. First Mr. Boddy, swiftly followed by the cook, then the unsuspecting motorist, the cop, Yvette (well done to both Abigail Round and Grace Norris for ze impeccable French accents) and, lastly, the poor Singing Telegram Girl. Cue lost keys, a few wry asides from Wadsworth, and some impressive slapstick comedy. From the neurotic Mrs Peacock, who is prone to bouts of very comical hysteria, to the sardonic Miss Scarlett, played by Daisy Jones and Grace Palmer-Jeffery, who oozed glamour, and artfully mastered the withering look, the young performers thoroughly entertained the audience.
Thus, ‘Clue’ begins to reach its dramatic denouement as Wadsworth recounts the events of the evening for the dinner guests. This section is replete with some excellent physical comedy from the cast. The six suspects begin their misguided accusations of one another, as the Chief of Police enters. Wadsworth reveals his true identify – ‘You’re Mr. Boddy!,” they gasp – and his cunning plan to hide the bodies and frame the guests is disclosed. That is, until, Green – played by Joe Jenkinson and Immy Sharp – divulges that he is in fact, an undercover FBI agent who holds incriminating evidence for each of the six dinner guests. Wadsworth’s hilariously drawn-out death scene in this section was a particular highlight.
Both casts of ‘Clue’ gave outstanding performances. At times it was difficult to believe this was a Middle School production. There were several notable examples of physical comedy: the chandelier falling in slow motion, narrowly missing Green’s head deserves a mention. Commanding the stage effortlessly, both Rose Savory and Calum Munday as Wadsworth the Butler gave marvellously accomplished performances by weaving in sly asides to the audience, momentarily losing composure, and skilfully evading questions to great comedic effect. Mention must also go to Harriet Murphy and Emily Jackson as Mrs White – whose previous husbands, of which there were many, all died in mysterious circumstances.
No ‘Boddy’ failed to leave the Performing Arts Centre without a smile on their face. Huge congratulations go to Mr Garrity and both casts and crew for a most uproarious and riotous production, in which Middle School pupils displayed talent and enthusiasm far beyond their young years. Often absurd, never dull, always hilarious: ‘Clue’ was an absolute riot.
Mrs Sophie Lawrence, Teacher of English
