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A thriller with a sense of fun Busybody Wolverhampton Grand **** IF Busybody is setting the standard then
the Grand’s four week season of Ian Dickens’ productions is a veritable
treat. This Jack Popplewell play from 1964 is not a bad
thriller in its own right opening with a body in one office which then
mysteriously moves to another then, for an encore, disappears
completely. All this before the very eyes of the flustered
company executive cleaner, Mrs Piper. When the said corpse mysteriously then reappears
alive and well the police are less than enthusiastic in their praise for
the public spiritedness of Mrs Piper until another body is found and
then a third and she is the only one who seems able to join all the
dots. But that is only half the story of a thriller
that is also a very funny comedy with Mrs Piper an interfering busybody
who knows everyone secrets and fills in any gaps in her knowledge with
intuition. Her 999 call brings Detective Superintendent
Baxter from his sick bed. He used to live in the same street as Mrs
Piper, Lily to you dear, and as plain old Harry once went out with her.
Memories he would rather forget. The interplay between the two is priceless. Lily sticking her nose in with a view on every twist and turn and at times taking over the investigation while poor old Harry is trying desperately to keep his dignity and emphasise his superior station in life from the days when he had known Mrs Piper. TIMING SPOT ON Érin Geraghty is magnificent as the busybody
cleaner. Her timing is spot on as she delivers every laugh in the script
perfectly in a matter of fact, natural way. Don’t meet her on a full moon though. You can’t
be too careful. She is apparently the seventh child of a seventh child
and was born on a Midsummers Day. On Terry Pratchett’s Discworld she
would be wizard or a witch or something. Paul Lavers as the harassed chief super having to
conduct an investigation with a reminder of a past he would rather
forget bending his ear is the perfect foil. There is nothing sinister about his past it is
just . . . Mrs Piper. Around them we have Martin Stanbridge as the dead
man who isn’t Richard Marshall, head of the firm of developers, Jez
Edwards as DC Goddard, lusting after secretary Vicki Reynolds (Gemma
Bissix). There is Marion Selby, the secretary secretly in love with her
boss Mr Marshall, Claire Marshall (Tracy Shaw) the boss’s wife who has a
rather loose concept of faithful the finally Robert Westerby (Paul
David-Gough) the firm’s accountant who has been accused of being
Claire’s lover. Then there are two bodies and a caretaker who has
been sacked and is about to lose his flat. Plenty of suspects to go at
and enough clues to solve a dozen crimes and keep the audience guessing
until, in the tradition of all good thrillers, the real killer is
revealed in the final scene – outwitted by a cleaner. Busybody
runs to July 2, Death by Fatal Murder July 5 to July 9, Who
Killed Agatha Christie? July 12 to July 16 and The Woman in White
July 19 to July 23. Season tickets are available to see all four
productions £48. Roger Clarke
IT'S a fair cop! Ian Dickens Productions'
summer play season got off to a great start with this sparkling comedy
thriller which proved a thoroughly arresting experience for the first
night audience. Make 'em smile is a good policy for the theatre,
and Jack Popplewell's amusing story of how a meddlesome office cleaning
woman has detectives tearing their hair in frustration certainly
achieves that object. Erin Geraghty, whose career began as a child
dancer in a Julie Andrews film, gives a wonderful performance as Mrs
Piper who calls the police after spotting a body in the building, then
creates a bit of mayhem with her observations and interruptions after
the victim disappears. It doesn't help hard-pressed Detective
Superintendent Baxter that he is a former boyfriend of Mrs P and she is
keen to remind him of past indiscretions while he is on the case. Paul
Lavers delivers just the right balance of frustration and anger with the
constant interference before getting his man... with the help of his
tormentor. An outstanding start by the excellent cast of
eight. Busybody runs to Saturday night 02.07.11 and will be followed by
Death by Fatal Murder (July 5-9). Paul Marston
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