Bumbling butler Bunting (Tony Turner), who rather over-indulges in his mistress’s sherry, soon arrives to add to the proceedings. A joyful performance of a convincingly tipsy butler, which is not as easy to do as Tony made it seem. Without giving too much away - he fooled me! The first guests to arrive are Colonel Charles Craddock (Paul Batson) and his long-suffering wife Margaret (Emma Bonfield). Paul gave us a wonderful portrayal of the retired colonel of the blustering variety with clever line delivery. Emma as his wife was a feisty performance with enough subtlety for us to feel sympathetic towards her marital situation. The remaining guests, Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington (Harriet Henry) and art dealer Pierre Marceau (Patrick Smith), swiftly followed. A beautifully dressed Elizabeth looked quite at home in the elegant lounge, and it was a stylish performance. Patrick portrayed his character with flair and a winning French accent. Although I suspected Pierre was up to no good, the personas of both actors were so polished that I was surprised when their true identities were revealed. Finally, the elderly but with-it Joan Maple (Lesley Hornsby) arrived and pretty much gate-crashed the party. I found Lesley’s portrayal very endearing. She doddered beautifully across the stage, but her sharp delivery of lines showed her character was nobody’s fool. A swiftly done manoeuvre into the ‘most comfortable’ chair also made me chuckle. Following the murder, the police force appeared in the form of Constable Tomkins (Tommy Irvine) and Inspector Pratt (Ian Graham). This duo complemented each other perfectly. Tommy’s stalwart
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