Visitors to the Ustinov, lured by its well earned reputation, might have been surprised by the apparent transformation into ‘the village hall’ for the New Old Friends’ production of Crimes Under the Sun. The vibe for this offering is of a hastily put together show by a knot of am. drams., with a ‘make do and mend’ and ‘we can overcome the limitations’ attitude which promised some high voltage knockabout.

Set on an island off the south coast – Agatha Christie’s haunt of Burgh Island springs to mind – what was on offer was a pastiche of that very British genre, the hotel murder mystery. Given that parody was the name of the game it was a pity that writer, Feargus Woods Dunlop and director, James Farrell, did not have the courage of their convictions and send the whole thing up in the style which but briefly put in an appearance. For example, had they made a virtue of Jill Myers’ wandering French accent and gone wholeheartedly for the laughs it might have given the actors more of a chance to fly.

Where the play did spring into life and generate some laughs was when it cast caution aside and invented with relish. The best moment for me was when the marvelously adaptable, Heather Westwell, played three policemen at the same time, using the simplest of props and clearly defined characters. This was clearly fun to do and a delight to watch.  Again, when Jonny McClean shuffled on as someone half his size and a fraction his age it was top-drawer invention and a real hoot.

In truth, all the actors were struggling against an over-reliance on exposition, with much of the plot given by way of narration rather than action. For reasons which never became apparent, the form of the play was a reminiscence by Ms. Myers’ ‘famous’ detective, Artemis Arinae, who spent as much time talking directly to the audience as to the bucketful of characters played by the other three quick-changing cast.  Again the lack of an overall style prevented it from getting into gear. Odd things, like the actors popping their heads from behind the set and singing a note each time the title was mentioned, were thrown in with little point.

The show suffered from being under rehearsed and the actors looked uncomfortable at times, though by the time it goes on the road it will no doubt have the opportunity to tighten up and relax. What was written as a bit of a lark has some nice ideas whilst a bit more of a guiding hand is needed to harness the flashes of creative potential.     ★★☆☆☆  Graham Wyles  21^st February 2018