A secret, but not for long...
leisure week 09 as file name
Fundraisers at Pendley’s Court Theatre who are hoping to make a bit of a killing from their latest supper theatre show know that murder can be mouthwatering.
And that’s why they’ve turned once again to the talents of writer/director Karen Banfield, who has penned Murder in Secret.
The curtain goes up next week on the fourth whodunnit that Karen has helped to create for the group, and once again it’s a period piece.
She steeped herself in the early 1950s to get familiar with the period before putting together the puzzle which the audience will be trying to unravel.
The supper theatre set-up sees the first act performed, and then a break for a buffet meal during which clues can be chewed over, motives dissected and allegations of who the murderer might be submitted.
Karen said: “I deliberately give each of the characters in act one a motive, but I also build in a reason why it could only have been the murderer that could have actually pulled it off.
“As they are fully scripted and rehearsed plays, it is always the same murderer each time. Although the audience can’t vote on who it will be, they do get the opportunity to work as a team at their table
“At the end of act two, there is the second interval where they can guess who the murderer is, why they did it and why it couldn’t have been anyone else.
“The winning table gets a prize and I think the others are usually just pleased with themselves if they guess correctly.
Open auditions were held for the show, and Karen is pleased to be working with a mixture of familiar and new faces.
Despite creating her own crime mysteries, her lethal insights don’t give her the inside edge when comes to other authors.
She admitted: “Even though I write murder mysteries, I still don’t usually guess the right person when I watch a TV whodunnit.
“I still enjoy watching them though and am an avid reader, particularly of thrillers.”
Murder In Secret opens on Thursday, March 7 and runs for three nights, with a matinee performance on Saturday, March 9.
Tickets which must be booked in advance to allow the theatre team to make the necessary catering arrangements.
They’re £17 each or £15 if buying a whole table for eight, and you can get them by calling 07543 560478, visiting the Court Theatre website www.courttheatre.co.uk or popping in to Beechwood Fine Foods, in Frogmore Street, Tring.
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Friday 24 May 2013
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