Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
Tuesday, September 2nd to Saturday, September 6th
by Tony Flood
Bumbling Inspector Pratt, superbly played by Mark Pearce, must be the most gormless policeman since The Naked Gun’s Frank Drebin and The Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau.
Peter Gordon’s spoof Agatha Christie-style thriller Death by Fatal Murder, set in the 1940s, centres around Pratt’s inept investigation of the disappearance of Constable Atkins.
Initially, he mistakenly believes that the ‘missing Constable’ is a painting that has been stolen from the English manor house to which he has been summoned.
Pearce brilliantly delivers innuendos, malapropisms, double entendres and even a sly wink to the audience.
Unfortunately, some of the gags are predictable and others simply do not come off. So this comedy sequel is not as funny as Peter Gordon’s Murdered to Death, which was shown at Devonshire Park last year when the blundering Pratt was played by Nicholas Briggs.
But once again Pavan Maru’s put-upon Constable Thomkins is an excellent foil for Pratt. They bounce off each other so well in providing both verbal and physical comedy.
Other cast members who also appeared in Murdered to Death are Sarah Wynne Kordas, Susan Earnshaw, Juliette Strobel and Karen Henson.
Sarah Wynne Kordas is superb as Nancy Allwright, the gently flirtatious new owner of Bagshot House where the action takes place.
Juliette Strobel, Susan Earnshaw and Karen Henson are equally well cast as upper-crust Ginny, pretentious Welsh clairvoyant Blodwyn and interfering amateur sleuth Miss Maple.
Impressive contributions are also made by Jeremy Lloyd Thomas and Andrew Ryan in the roles of Italian gigolo Enzo and stuffy Squadron Leader Allwright.
The similarities to Murdered to Death are hardly surprising, with the backstage team of director John Goodrum, Conal Walsh and costume designer Geoff Gilder again creating the right atmosphere in a sitting room setting.
The plot is cleverly contrived, albeit far-fetched, with a host of secrets and motives revealed in a frantic final scene.
