Christ Church Players
Out of Sight, Out of Murder

SET in the living room of struggling author Peter Knight, Fred Carmichael’s comedy centres around characters that come to life from the page - and its there where the fun begins.

It seems there is a waiting room for murder mystery characters where they sit until an author decides to use them. They know one another which is evident from the amount of petty squabbling among them all as they vie for position as the lead performer.

Janet Balshaw is first on the scene as Lydia, the smartly dressed well-to-do wife of a solicitor. Her one-liners were a treat. Cogburn the Butler is given a straight faced edge by Geoffrey Pearson as he bumbles his way through the plot and is ably assisted by Fran Shinks as forever pregnant maid Addie, who cries at every turn. Martin Miller’s portrayal of the author Peter Knight is believable as he links each character together in a vain bid to make his story work. Add Adam Syddall’s energetic Lothario by the name of Dick Stanton, a typical distraction by an attractive bombshell played to a tee by Ruth Syddall, and a comedy tour de force by Brenda Griffiths as old lady Fiona - and we have the perfect mix for a laugh a minute comedy.

Cameo performances by Brian Peel and Jill Leatherbarrow hit the right note matching the quality of the players in this emerging drama society.

The set worked very well in this setting and was used to its full capacity.

Ruth Syddall can be proud of her directorial debut – the cast did her proud and the capacity audience laughter and applause was testament to the achievements of all involved in this production.

By Paul Cohen