The Gruntfuttock Fortune
Venue: Grove Theatre, Eastbourne.
Date: Sunday, August 25th, 2024.
By Tony Flood
The Gruntfuttock Fortune, a murder mystery presented by Morlington Murders, provided great fun, brain-teasing entertainment and an excellent afternoon tea for an appreciative audience at The Grove Theatre in Eastbourne on Sunday.
A talented cast of Radley Mason, his wife Holly Mason and Steve Scott cleverly played a variety of roles as three murders were committed in the sleepy little Cornish Village of Morlington Hill in 1941.
As promised, Nigel Fairs’ spoof treated us to ‘Carry On meets Christe’ by coming up with some saucy punch lines – and names such as Connie Lingus – amongst the murders of Lord Reginald Morlington, his solicitor Edward Gruntfuttock and the solicitor’s daughter Kitty.
Radley Mason gave an excellent portrayal of Detective Knibblet, interrogating the suspects and challenging us to unravel the clues – after making an early appearance as the Lord’s daughter Fiona. Holly Mason switched from the upper-crust Lady Geraldine Morlington to plain-speaking gamekeeper Connie Lingus, while Artistic Director Steve Scott’s most dramatic appearance was as her ladyship’s missing son.
It got a tad confusing at times, but nobody cared as audience members were able to sift through the clues over drinks, sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and cake. The winning team received a bottle of bubbly!
The Grove Theatre, an intimate arts venue located on Grove Road, under Eastbourne Library, will also be staging murder mystery suppers on the evenings of September 20th (Trouble at Tinkle’s Bottom), October 25th (Hollywood Homicide), November 29th and December 13th.
A buffet-style meal of cold meats, salads, cheese and breads, followed by cake, is included in tickets for the evening shows, which start at 7.30 pm and are priced £29.50.
Morlington Murders are also bringing their murder mysteries to The Lamb Inn, Old Town, starting on Thursday, September 26th. Food includes pie and an alcoholic drink.
Radley Mason says: “Every month there’s a new script so audiences can experience a different show each time.”
Pictures of the cast are provided by Josh Lewis.
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Tony Flood spent most of his working life as a journalist, initially on local and regional papers and then on nationals. He was also editor of Football Monthly, Controller of Information at Sky Television and enjoyed a spell with The People before retiring in 2010.
He recalls: “My work as a showbiz and leisure writer, critic and editor saw me take on a variety of challenges - learning to dance with Strictly Come Dancing star Erin Boag, becoming a stand-up comedian and playing football with the late George Best and Bobby Moore in charity matches.
“Now I spend much of my time writing books, and theatre reviews and articles for online magazines Unknown Kent and Sussex and The Write Site. I recently retired from playing veterans football, having been one of the oldest - and slowest - players in the country!” Tony's first book was fantasy adventure SECRET POTION, which went to No. 1 in its Amazon category and has been recommended by other authors for Harry Potter fans of all ages.
His celebrity book, MY LIFE WITH THE STARS – SIZZLING SECRETS SPILLED! is full of anecdotes and revelations about showbiz and sports personalities, including Eric Morecambe, Elvis Presley, Kylie Minogue, George Best, Frank Sinatra, Joan Collins, Strictly Come Dancing stars, Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore, with whom Tony worked.
The versatile Mr Flood then turned to writing in another genre with spicy crime thriller TRIPLE TEASE, endorsed by best-selling author Peter James, actor Brian Capron and The Sun newspaper's Stuart Pink. Following the success of TRIPLE TEASE, Tony wrote STITCH UP! – KILLER OR VICTIM? and FALL GUY.
In BEGGARS BELIEF compassionate copper DCI Harvey Livermore and his Major Crime Team are again trying to put a killer behind bars in a gripping, fast-moving story.
Tony has also co-written, with his wife Heather Flood, LAUGHS AND TEARS GALORE – STORIES AND POEMS WITH TWISTS!
Tony gives talks about the showbiz and sports stars featured in his celebrity book, as well as holding miniworkshops and giving advice on how would-be authors can write a successful book. Any groups wishing to contact him can email:
tflood04@yahoo.co.uk Tony is chairman of Anderida Writers of Eastbourne. The link for the Anderida website is:
www.anderidawriters.co.uk
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