Young starlet stabbed in a catastrophic mix-up with prop knife

New Old Friends: Crimes, Camera, Action at the Corn Exchange
on Tuesday, March 22, and Wednesday, March 23. Review by ROBIN STRAPP

NEW Old Friends’ latest play in their Crimes series of comedy thrillers, written by Fergus Woods Dunlop, is set in the golden era of Hollywood.

This film noir classic whodunnit spoof concerns the apparent murder of a young starlet, who is stabbed in a catastrophic mix-up with a prop knife.

Enter our hero, the private detective Stan Shakespeare, who is determined to solve this dastardly crime.

The plot has more twists and turns than a corkscrew and is performed at breakneck speed by four actors, who cleverly multi-role more than 40 different characters with just a change of hat, costume or prop, sometimes playing two roles in the same scene.

The slow motion action rewind scene was hilarious, with the actors performing everything in reverse.

It’s a hilarious rollercoaster of a comedy, but it is sometimes difficult to follow the plot, especially when delivered with the cast’s shrill American accents.

There are lots of physical gags and some pure pantomime fun, such as the word play on people’s names and the resulting chaos.

The constantly moving set consisting of doors, desks, window blinds and steps is an act in itself, recreating the movie back lot and all moved with remarkable precision by the actors.

There was a clever piece of staging when our detective goes through a door while it is still moving across the stage. That must have taken some time to rehearse.

The big reveal and musical number was pure Hollywood pastiche.

The sound effects play an important part in the play and add much to the comedy effect. The lighting is slickly operated however it was difficult to see Stan Shakespeare when he was speaking directly to the audience at the front of the stage, which was a pity.

The energetic cast must have been exhausted by the end and of course our detective, in true murder mystery style, solves the convoluting plot at the dénoument.

There was plenty of laughter from the audience who appreciated the fun and the pandemonium that New Old Friends created.