Programme Note #1: Clue: On Stage Welcome to a new Wick season and for many of you welcome back to the theatre. It is so good to be physically back on stage and we have a great show for the opening of our 2021/2022 season.
Back in the spring, we had no idea whether we would be able to put on a play in October, but we wantewd it to be a good one. So when Suse, my producer, said she had just seen that Clue: On Stage was available I jumped at the chnace to direct it.
The show is based on the 1985 film Clue which in turn is based on the board game Cluedo, called Clue in America. It has since become a classic and firm favourite of many. The play has all the usual suspects, weapons and rooms and while the film had 3 different endings with differet cinemas showing different ones, the play is slightly different…and what really happened, is for for you to decide.
The play is set in 1950s America. It is worth noting this is at the height of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, By definition, MyCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason wihtout proper regard for evidence. How aprops. No?
My thanks go to the hughely talented cast, and equally brilliant crew. A special thanks to Suse Crosby who signed on to help me even before we had a show and supported me throughout.
Along the way, we learnt to rehease outside, invented blended rehearsaing through a mixture of online and in person and we have laughed non stop.
All you have to do now is work out who did it.Enjoy
A stormy night in a mansion during the McCarthy witchhunts. False truths. Knives in the back. Whodunnit? A drama based on film ‘Clue’ and game ‘Cluedo’. Serious tomfoolery and drama from Wick Theatre Company at the Barn Theatre, Southwick, near Brighton. McCarthy wouldn’t like it.
Start with a proscenium arch. On stage there’s a 1950s drawing room with a dozen characters in smart suits and loud dresses. Sigh. This is going to be staid old fashioned theatre, isn’t it? Oh no it isn’t!
This is grand quality farce meets stonking satire. But there’s a serious side too.
‘Clue on Stage’ is set in the USA during the McCarthy witch hunts. Unamerican activities and communism were strictly off the menu. False truths weren’t invented during COVID-19.
It starts with a polite dinner party in a mansion down the road from Washington DC. The elite are arriving in their smart colour-coded garb. Mrs White and Mr Green, Mrs Peacock and Professor Plum. They sound like characters from a Christmas parlour game don’t they? Yes exactly! The plot is based on a mish mash of that kid’s board game Cluedo (invented by Anthony E Pratt) and a 1985 film ‘Clue’ (directed by Jonathan Lynn).
All the guests have something to hide. Blackmail or coercion are all the rage. But there do seem to be an awful lot of deaths coming out of a simple house party with cocktails and dinner.
Don’t go into the library. Don’t go upstairs. But definitely don’t go down to the cellar!
Mutinous lies and bloody ties and what a lot of murders for the time of year and especially this evening. Well, who would have thought that among the US elite. Who are you accusing?
‘I didn’t do anything unproper’. No? Hypocrisy and lies and double twists in the plot. Complexity not simplicity.
But don’t be the guy who stumbles up the driveway to this mansion in the dark because his car’s broken down. You know the trope.
Clever. Quick. Devious and Ironic. It’s persecution with pants down and knives in the back. Beautifully exposed satire.
Some folks say the site for this wicked and twisted plot was based on a mansion house in Rottingdean. But it certainly seems a long way from cream teams and sun tan on the shingle.
Julian Batstone’s direction hits exactly the right note, between seriousness, tomfoolery and excellent drama. But the stage management (Gaby Bowring) and lighting and design (Martin Oakley) provide the steady bass line behind the 11 strong cast. Doing silly on stage is never easy but this production hits exactly the right balance. But too many words? Possibly.
The Barn Theatre in Southwick, which opened in 1951, is only 15 minutes across the county line from Brighton Station. There was a full house of over a 100 people and a cute bar. Local lad, Attila the Stockbroker, would laugh his head off at this caper. You’ll certainly get taken for an excellent ride if other productions from the Wick Theatre Company are like this.
McCarthy wouldn’t like it.
Review #2:
Publication: NODA
Publication Data: October 12 – off-line
Reviewer: Lance Milton
While Clue on Stage was far from what the policeman ordered it was just what the doctor ordered for those of us fortunate enough to be members of the audience. It was simply the perfect antidote to all of the bad news we have been experiencing over the past couple of years, with laughs and chuckles a plenty.
Julian Batstone’s production was a fast-paced journey full of great comedic moments. I particularly liked when every time the doorbell rang everyone looked at the audience.
There were also so some hilarious moments in the second act with the lead Guy Steddon as Wadsworth stealing the show with his incredible recap scene. He had so much energy and played the role with vibrancy and perfect stylised satire throughout.
All of the supporting cast, Jaqueline Harper (Miss Scarlet), Matt Arnold (Colonel Mustard), Suse Crosby (Mrs White), Luke Mepham (Mr Green), Tanya Lyons (Mrs Peacock), Dan Dryer (Professor Plum), Emily Dennett (Yvette), Giles Newlyn-Bowmer, Andrea Jones and Paul Holden were equally adept at playing the laughs and making great use of the set so as to give the impression of 18 different rooms.
The set was clever and functional with sliding units containing doors.
Along with the entire audience I laughed until my cheeks ached and that for me is the best sign of a great night’s entertainment.
