Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Contact Us   Spider's Web by Agatha Christie Directed by Wendy Marsh 31 January - 7 February 2009 (7 performances) Suppose you were to enter your living room and find the dead body of your worst enemy lying on the floor? Suppose that you were expecting the imminent arrival of an important guest, whose presence could have far reaching implications for the world? What would you do? This is the terrible dilemma faced by Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, second wife of a Foreign Office civil servant... Cast Sir Rowland Delahaye John Hyde Hugo Birch Horry Stapleton Jeremy Warrender Andrew Kelly Clarissa Hailsham-Brown Ellie Martin Pippa Hailsham-Brown Ella Banks, Kirstie Logan Mildred Peake Desni Hanford Elgin David Hampton Oliver Costello Richard Banks Henry Hailsham-Brown Paul Friett Inspector Lord Mark Campbell Constable Jones Tony Gurney Crew Stage Manager Rebecca Mason Assistant Stage Manager Linda Gay Set Design Wendy Marsh Set Construction John Vinnels, Ron Andrews Set Decoration Hannah Jacobs, Michael Martin, Ella Banks, Wendy Marsh, Rebecca Mason, Kirstie Logan, Richard Banks, Steve Duggins, Cheryl Loom Costumes & Hairstyles Wendy Marsh Properties & Backstage Sarah Hills, Yvonne Golding Lighting Design & Rig Jerry McKeon, Christine McKeon, Michael Smith Lighting Operation Michael Smith Sound Design Rebecca Mason Sound Operation Sarah O'Hanlon Music by Murray Gold. The role of Pippa will be played by Ella on Saturday 31st, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; Kirstie will play the role of Pippa at all other performances. Review Cop this for a whodunit A web of intrigue is spinning at the Edward Alderton Theatre in Agatha Christie's Spider's Web, writes Steve Spencer. The drama unfolds at the home of the Hailsham-Browns. Clarissa, second wife to Henry, entertains her guests alone, but when they leave for the golf club, a visit to the house by the husband of Henry's first wife throws things into disarray. The arrival of the police eventually pieces events together and solves the murder mystery. Christie's 1950s drama has all the ingredients - a few clues, plenty of red herrings - of a classic whodunit and on the whole Wendy Marsh's production offers an enjoyable evening's entertainment. Having said that, some directorial decisions seem a little strange: the corpse is lying on stage throughout the interval! There were also a couple of sloppy moments with props - Pippa's secondhand book was different in Act 2 and the actual murder did not accurately correspond to the description in Christie's text. However, while the director never allows the production to be played for laughs, there are plenty of natural comedic moments which are seized on enthusiastically by the team of actors. Ellie Martin plays a convincing Clarissa, sufficiently beguiling and vulnerable at the same time. Her upper class manner is perhaps the most consistent. Her spin on the evening's events in the house draws both exasperation and disbelief from the characters. Her bevy of male friends include Delahaye (rather well played by John Hyde, thanks to a few stumbling lines), Birch (Horry Stapleton) and Warrender (Andrew Kelly). The Hailsham Brown household includes husband Henry (Paul Friett) and the ever-hungry Pippa (quite convincingly played by Ella Banks). Of course the most interesting roles in this genre are those of the police. Ably played by Mark Campbell, Inspector Lord gets to the bottom of things and, as his name suggests, appears as much a toff as the suspects. By contrast, his constable (Tony Gurney) is a more down-to-earth (if not totally accurate) Welshman. Want to know whodunit? Well, you will need to get down to the theatre to find out! Steve Spencer Kentish Times I 12 February 2009 Miscellaneous Press Release (PDF) Kentish Times Review (PDF) Trailer (MP4)