Innuendo and red herrings in murder mystery near Leamington

Offchurch village hall was treated to a performance of a murder mystery by theatre company A Stab In The Dark (in partnership with the Magikal Theatre group) last Friday.

Welcomed with enthusiasm by host Mike Connell, each guest - some in fancy dress - was escorted to their table and greeted by Lady Louisa Latterly (the confident actress Pippa Robinson) and the sinister butler Peeves (Matthew Hardy - superb casting).

As the actors performed one of their many and thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery pieces, the audience tucked into a tasty three-course meal prepared by chef Joe Connell.

Transporting the audience to the 1920s rural middle England, they arrived just in time to hear of the murder of the first victim.

A hysterical Sally Mopp, the housemaid (marvellously portrayed by Catriona Cameron) screamed through her tears that she had just discovered Lord Latterly pinned to the potting shed door with a garden fork.

It was down to Inspector Thoroughly (played with gusto by Mark Frampton) to hold the tension between scenes and to introduce more clues.

Was the murderer the down to earth gardener Oliver Swellors (a delightful performance by Dan Hawkins), who seemed to know more than he would let on?

But by the time the main course had been served it seemed that everyone – including the formidable Lady Latterly, had plenty of reasons to murder his Lordship.

Then another murder - quite unexpected - threw the audience into another round of testing questions to the remaining cast.

Humour, innuendo and red herrings kept the piece moving at a cracking pace.

To find out more about A Stab in the Dark, visit www.astabinthedark-events.co.uk