This week has seen the opening of Gerry Linford’s third play
in 2 years at Liverpool’s Royal Court, following the success of Yellow Breck
Road and The Miracle of Great Homer Street. The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery
is probably his most carefully thought through work to date, with a tightly
fashioned storyline and a great blend of comedy and home truths.
Eddie is a lifelong devotee of classic TV detective series
but, since retiring from his job at Ford’s, his interest has become an
obsession. His wife Trish’s ongoing professional success as a solicitor does
nothing to boost his self-confidence, and the emasculated Eddie spends his
nights dozing off on the sofa in front of his DVD box sets.
When new neighbours Greta and Martin invite them in for a
coffee one evening, budding sleuth Eddie sniffs out something not quite right
with the loved-up couple. Things start to go rather more than just ‘bump’ in
the night, and the arrival of police and an ambulance outside next-door’s house
are too much for Eddie to ignore. Enter Phoebe, their daughter, and her
University friend Josh, who’s studying for a degree in criminology. The mysterious
Greta becomes the focus of a full-blown investigation that the whole family
become rapidly embroiled in.
It’s not so much a whodunit as a who-was-it-done-to, as we
try to figure out whether a crime has been committed. The story affords plenty
of opportunity for slapstick comedy and wordplay, but it also lets us into the
world of a man whose relationship with his wife has fallen into the doldrums.
Whenever he’s in doubt, Eddie asks himself what Columbo would do in this
situation. His mentor puts in occasional appearances with homilies about
himself and Mrs Columbo, but it takes events closer to reality to bring Eddie
to his senses and address the real issues between himself and Trish.
Paul Duckworth is Eddie, and he can turn on a sixpence
between madcap comedy and genuine pathos. He’s perfectly matched with Pauline
Fleming as Trish, smart, efficient and occasionally dismissive, but ultimately
still very much Eddie’s soulmate. Olivia Sloyan and Michael Peace as Phoebe and
Josh turn out performances that are far from just supporting roles. Both have
plenty of character work written for them, and they have their fair share of
the comedy too, and they really make the most of it.
Liam Tobin has form for playing multiple parts, and
Linford’s text offers him an opening to roll out a sequence of different
accents and even to break out of character and into song. Not only does he end
up wearing a dodgy disguise as Martin, but he also finds time to slip into a
shabby raincoat and shaggy wig to become Eddie’s inner-confidante Columbo.
The show-stealing performance here, however, comes from
Gillian Hardie, who gives a gloriously outrageous rendering of the sex-obsessed
budding artist Greta, who has apparently left a trail of deceased husbands in
her torrid wake. It would certainly take a man with a strong heart to survive
long meeting her demands. Hardie turns from poise and sophistication one moment
to demonic eccentricity the next, and there are times when the only thing that
feels missing is the appearance of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to rush in and rip off
her mask.
Under Chris Mellor’s steady-handed direction, all of this
plays out on a deliciously detailed three-set design by Foxton, which once
again uses the theatre’s revolving stage to keep the pace moving smoothly. The
soundtrack that ranges from The Rockford Files to Romeo and Juliet underpins
the action and neatly covers the scene changes.
Gerry Linford has shown that his flair for a clever
narrative structure that can balance farce with family drama is in no short
supply. Far from wearing thin in this third offering, he seems to be turning the
formula into a fine art.
Oh, there’s just one more thing... The Menlove Avenue Murder
Mystery continues at the Royal Court until 21st September.
 | ||||
| Gillian Hardie |
 | |||
| Paul Duckworth and Liam Tobin |
Pictures by Activate Digital
Star rating: Four Stars
This review was originally written for and published by Good News Liverpool
Comments
Post a Comment