Jim and I went to see "Sleuth" at the New Theatre last week to find out if they were capable of improving on our effort. On the whole I don't think they did. The action was faithful to the script as we did it - we could have prompted if they had needed it.
Simon MacCorkindale who played Andrew Wyke gabbled his lines and generally behaved like a maniac on stage. If we hadn't known the text so well most of his lines would have been lost to us as we often couldn't hear them.
The set was good but then they had the advantage of height and could create a flight of stairs and a gallery although the bedroom entrance was a nonsense as there was a window in a strange place. The general effect was not a bit like "living in Hamleys" as there were hardly any games in evidence and the fish tank had no water or fish in it!
The special effects were not up to our standard as the safe breaking took place out of sight under the stairs (as the text) and if there had been real bullets in the gun when Wyke shot the jug then Milo would have been dead early as he was standing right in front of it.
However we did have an enjoyable evening but whether it was worth the £26.00 per ticket I am not so sure. C.A.D.S certainly gave value for money when we did 'Sleuth" and I trust it will continue to do so.
