by James Schofield
Clue, currently playing at The Millgate Arts Centre in Delph is based on the iconic 1985 Paramount Film, which was equally inspired by the Board Game Cluedo.
From entering the auditorium of the theatre, there was no way of mistaking what we were about to witness. The floor of the theatre was a giant board game replica, and the spotlights of colour around the stage represented the colours of the characters’ game pieces.
The tale begins at a remote mansion where 6 guests assemble for an unusual dinner party, where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth ( the Butler played with a ram rod back and active eye brows by Gavin Stamper) we meet the classic characters from the game. Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs White, Mr Green, Mrs Peacock and Colonel Mustard, in a race against time to find the killer.
Clue: the stage play is exactly what you would expect from a 90 minute play based on the game, it’s all about the characters and the set, combined with farcical physical comedy, under the slick direction of Mark Rosenthal.
The staging of the play is the biggest winner of the evening, in its very clever use of flats and lighting to recreate in a second the various rooms of the game board, the kitchen, the library, the snooker room were all there in a moments notice and slickly removed, keeping the pace of the evening alive, unlike the many dead bodies piling up around the place. Each room was clearly thought through and must be credited to the design and build team (Chris Bannatyne, John Lees & Frank Brown) for the amazing contribution it gave to the evening.
The same must also be said for the costume team, (Verity Mann, Sarra McKensie-Pilot & team) each character was brought to life exactly as expected from the board game to the stage. Every character was brought alive with a fabulous look and colourful presence.
Well done to these departments.
The actors did not disappoint and portrayed their characters with alarming accuracy, standout performances from Keith McEvoy as the bumbling colonel Mustard and a pitch perfect comedy performance from Sue Borg as Mrs Peacock, each one relishing their chance to bring to life these colourful characters. The same must be said for the body language that Mr Green and Miss Scarlett brought to their roles, every move had a reason and story to tell. There was just the right amount of ” over the top” acting that was needed to add so much life to the well known characters.
Some of my favourite moments were in the more stylised actions – the slow motion chandelier, the Recaps and Rewinds (*spolier*) – all handled so well and rehearsed to a perfect crescendo..
The use of light and darkness, swirling lights combined with dramatic spotlight created the perfect balance of creepiness and lightheartedness needed in the production. Never taking itself too seriously.
In the movie, the characters run around from one room to another a lot, and on the stage this was very limited, to combat this the director had added choreographed moves with chairs and tip toe routines to ensure we were fully onboard with the movement to mimic running around the corridors of the mansion. This added pace to the scene changes and kept us fully informed on the movements of the cast, a clever addition to the proceedings.
If truth be told, I never guessed right playing the board game, never had a clue what was going on, and again this evening I didn’t really get it Right either, or did I? As there are 6 different endings to decipher : I may have got it right at least once!
This was opening night, with a near Full house, and with a little more Pace in Act 1, and some louder vocal projections from some of the cast, it will undoubtedly prove to be a sure fire hit for Saddleworth Players.
Clue runs from 21 until 28th September at Millgate Arts Centre Delph OL3 5DY.
Tickets £12 / £6 available from www.millgateartscenre.co.uk or 01457 874644
