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.
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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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