Dial M for Murder, a well known and loved thriller performed by the Jubilee Players at the Tithe Barn, Horstead, started its run of three nights on Wednesday 24th October.

The play is well known and made into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954 starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland. The Jubilee Players performance provided all the intrigue and atmosphere that would be remembered from the film. The three main characters Sheila Wendice her husband Tony and Shiela’s love interest Max Halliday, played by Hannah Cunningham, Paul Skippings and Neil Sumser-Lupson, all give very convincing performances bringing the era to life. Hannah is a vulnerable Shiela not knowing how treacherous her husband can be. Paul Skippings is an excellent devious and suave Tony planning the death of his unsuspecting wife. The best laid plans can come unstuck and unravel, the audience witness this as the play shows , in the end the villain gets his come uppance when all is revealed.

A very enjoyable and entertaining evening. The Jubilee Players give a polished and professional performance, enhanced by the excellent costumes and set and also the setting of the beautiful Tithe Barn.

For those of a certain age – and the great majority of the audience were of the age – there is a resonance in the title of this piece which immediately evokes recollections of the 1950s when life was still mainly lived in black and white and the use of the death penalty was the subject of intense public debate.

Many would never seen Frederick Knott’s play in its original form and would have their memories shaped by the Hitchcock film, but this revival illustrates the point that the development of a complex plot on stage can bring the audience closer to the characters than a high tension cinematic thriller.

Ray Milland and Grace Kelly may have received great critical acclaim for their portrayals of Tony and Margot Wendice - the retired tennis star and his trophy wife - but these Jubilee Players’ performances by Paul Skippings and Hannah Cunningham carried full conviction. The clipped speech and patterned dialogue of the upper-middle class of the era set the tone for establishing that their relationship was, at best, brittle and, when the wife’s former lover – played with quiet assurance by Neil Sumser-Lupson – re-appears on the scene, his superficial acceptance by her husband is underpinned by a growing certainty among the audience that this would soon unravel.

As the tension rises, a shady, former associate of the husband is drawn into the action, Neil Philips’ edgy portrayal of the financially-motivated would-be murderer confirming that the deed would be done. The mid-play twist in the plot will not be revealed!

Responsibility for the enquiry into the confusing death fell to Chief Inspector Hubbard who, at first, appeared to have assured himself that he has a satisfactory explanation of events. Played convincingly by Graham Brakenbury, the apparently stereotypical detective is gradually revealed as possessing the imagination and initiative to delve deeper which enables him to bring about the dramatic denouement much to the relief of the audience.

Two features of this production deserve particular praise: the set was splendid, capturing the era in decor and a wide range of period props and the costume - especially of the well-heeled wife - could not have been bettered.

It is astounding that, such was the contemporary success of Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Frederick Knott wrote only two other plays and was able to spend the next fifty years living comfortably on his royalties and earnings from the Hitchcock film. The regular re-appearance of the play in the repertoire of amateur dramatic groups is a reflection of its enduring appeal and Rosalind Chamberlin’s well-paced production does full justice to what has become a theatrical classic.

Jubilee Players can always be relied upon for a good evening’s entertainment; yet again, they did not let down their audience.

After an interval of 26 years since they last performed this entertaining comedy, Jubilee Players presented Jack Popplewell’s Busybody for their summer production. It was a great success.

Seeking to summarise the plot would be a fruitless exercise so suffice to say that it involves missing corpses (or was there only one?), marital disharmony, office intrigue, incompetent police officers and a deceptively ‘dim’ cleaning lady; all are fully exploited for comic effect.

The lead role – Mrs Piper, the office cleaner – holds the piece together and was quite superbly performed by Cynthia Gosling. Stepping away from her well-established roles as a lady of the aristocracy/gentry, she only needed to pull on her headscarf to be transformed into a ‘I’m several steps ahead of you, detective inspector’ Mrs Mopp.

That the detective inspector was a childhood acquaintance – a relationship that the upwardly-mobile officer would prefer to forget – gave added piquancy to the sparring between the two characters as the ‘professional’ and the busybody sought to unravel the mystery. Neil Phillips played the inspector with a splendid blend of bluster and bewilderment.

Supporting the two main characters was a strong cast. Paul Skippings was obliged to display contrasting personae depending on whether he was victim or perpetrator (or both? or neither?) and did so with conviction. Ray Tempesta, as the detective constable, successfully persuaded the audience that his IQ was even lower that of his inspector and seemed better suited to the pursuit of the office typist, played - very amusingly - to the extremities of flirtatiousness by Michelle Jay. Hannah Cunningham - whether posing as the grieving ‘widow’ or when unmasked as the adulterous wife – never lost her edge as a the unacceptable face of the bored middle-class spouse while Rosalind Chamberlin - thwarted in her romantic intentions – as the loyal PA to the victim/murderer gave as assured a performance as Neil Sumser-Lupson, the apparently ‘good guy’ accountant.

The dialogue was crisply delivered by all the characters with the asides – particularly those of the office cleaner – beautifully timed and reflected the careful preparation of the performers by joint directors Sue Phillips and Sue Furness. The production was further enhanced by a thoughtful set which convincingly reconstructed a 1950s office.

For a variety of reasons, Jubilee Players have been unable to perform to their normal schedule for the last 15 months but for their loyal audience this was a very well-received ‘Welcome Back’. No one who attended this production would hesitate to book dates in their diary when ‘Dial M for Murder’ comes to the Tithe Barn in October (24th, 25th and 26th). Next time, there may not be as many laughs but at least there will be less confusion over the corpse.

A play within a play .....................and a murder in the play within the play. No, Jubilee Players did not treat their audience to a performance of Hamlet and, in a splendid evening’s entertainment, their latest production Murder in Play certainly provided rather more laughs than the inhabitants of Elsinore Castle.

To seek to describe the plot of this piece would require a review of a word length well beyond expected parameters, so to summarise: it is complex. As the characters move rapidly between their assumed identities and their ‘real’ selves and a murder becomes the central theme of both ‘plays’, the parallels between the ‘actors’ and the ‘Act-ors’ become increasingly evident. What matters? “The show must go on.”

And it does, at a rattling good pace which the director – of Jubilee Players, that is – Rosalind Chamberlin has demanded from her performers. The one character who is not required to slip in and out of role is the ‘director’ – the wonderfully named, Boris Smolensky – who is played with convincing assurance by Paul Skippings. He holds the play together while his lecherous intentions make a full contribution to the ‘play’ falling apart.

Seven faces of Luvviedom are amusingly represented by the other characters/Act-ors: Mr Papadopoulos (Neil Phillips) careworn, alcoholic and constantly anecdotally reminiscing about his time with Larry/Johnny/Edith; Lady Dorothy Cholmondley (Sue Furness) self-obsessed, scheming and, by the end of Act 1, dead; Major Rodney Purbright (Neil Sumser-Lupson) shell-shocked in character, lovelorn in ‘life’; Lady Virginia Cholmondeley (Michelle Jay) “it’s difficult for me to play a stupid character”  - cue: knowing looks from her fellow thespians: Mrs Puttock (Libby Henshaw) acidly protecting her embarrassing secret; Triggs (Hannah Cunningham) bemoaning her three years in drama school in order to man a drinks’ trolley but perkily assertive when the subject of Boris’s advances; stage manager Pat (Sue Phillips) put-upon in Act I and, even more irritable in Act II when pressed into service on stage.

With considerable skill, all performers breathed energy into their stock characters. The play is cleverly written but needs lively interpretation to sustain its momentum. A limp production would give the audience time to reflect on the absurdity of it all; in this production, the audience is carried along on a wave of absurdity. Quite understandably, actors always thoroughly enjoying playing Act-ors and the whole cast revelled in this opportunity.

Jubilee Players have built themselves a strong reputation for entertaining productions and their regular followers can look forward to future performances with the assurance that

The play's the thing,

Wherein we’ll fun to loyal audience bring

As ever, Jubilee Players live up to their promise.