“Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders” by Ravenshead Theatre Group.

Ravenshead Village Hall.

Agatha Crusty (pronounced Croosty) is a crime novelist. She ís also pretty good at solving crimes. When her sister-in-law Alice invites her to spend a few days with her in the village of Chortelby, it’s not long before she gets caught up in a series of murders which seem directed at the members of the All Saints Village Hall committee.

From Toby, the Vicar, and Eleanor, Chair of the committee, to Harry Knott the caretaker and identical twins Olivia and Oliver Truscott-Pratt, there are plenty of suspects. And with an investigating officer as incompetent as D.I. Twigg, there are plenty of laughs as the murders begin to pile up. But let’s not forget, while packed full of wit and very funny scenes, this is also a genuine murder mystery with an ingenious plot which will tax the little grey cells of the audience at the same time!

This is the first play to be staged by Ravenshead Theatre Group since lockdown and it’s so good to have them back.

Agatha Crusty, played by Ann-Marie Butler, slowly and carefully dissects all the evidence to reveal who the murderer is. And can I say, I got it wrong.

Oliver Truscott-Pratt and Olivia Truscott-Pratt are the twins, both parts played by Catherine Buckley. Olivia the slightly posh one while Oliver is a bit of a bumpkin, always ready to tilt his shotgun at a rabbit, or whatever he feels like aiming his gun at. I loved the fact that Catherine came on twice for the final bows, one for each twin.

P.C. George Lockett is played by Daniel Andrews. Lockett is not the sharpest knife in the rack and is also related to one of the other characters, but could Lockett really be above suspicion? There are certain clues that could provide links to at least one of the murders, but saying that there are plenty of red herrings in this play!

Alice Fogg is Agatha’s Sister-in-Law and played wonderfully by Verity Betts. A lovely comedy character who at times reminded me a bit of Alice Tinker from "The Vicar Of Dibley". Quite lovable but just a little scatty.

Rob Hurst plays Detective Inspector Twigg. This is a wonderful character for Rob to play as there are a lot of malapropisms in the role, as well as a great over belief in Twigg's ability to be the great detective that Twigg feels he is. This role really plays to Rob's strengths. Does our Detective twig who the village murderer is? Only one way to find out!

Maisie Grimm, the cleaner, has a devil may care attitude until young Oliver puts his foot on one of the chairs and then a look of thunder comes over Maisie's face, obviously showing the pride this cleaner has in her work. This must be one of the traits that Maisie values as she is cleaner to many of the homes in this little village. we also discover a bit of a back story with Maisie as her recently deceased husband was killed by a shotgun accident...or was it an accident? I love some of the facial expressions that Hazel O'Connell produces in this play as well as the attitude given.

The Reverand Toby Bishop, the vicar, played by John Birch delivers a performance worthy of a man of the cloth. Controlled and calming, but there is a reason we discover why he would want a diminished committee. Surely the Rev wouldn't cross over to the dark side though? Would he?

Eleanor Wagstaff is the Committee Chairwoman. Mandy Buckley, who plays the ever attentive, almost servile-like right hand woman to the vicar, reminds me a lot of a young Julie Walters/Celia Imrie with her looks and character acting ability. I am a big fan of all three of these brilliant actors, Julie, Celia and Mandy. Another wonderfully comic role for Mandy to portray, but can that jealous streak Eleanor shows when Toby favours anything or anyone else be controlled?

Isabella Battersby, another committee member with a wonderful Cornish accent as well as a great zest for the activities that are held at the All Saints Church Hall is played by someone who I always find fun to watch, Sarah Tryner.

Helen Berry completes this very entertaining and talented cast as Mandy who first appears as the life model in the Art class. Mandy then joins the drama club and gives an audience pleasing death scene as Snow White in the Village panto rehearsals.

Harry Knott is the caretaker, and his surname gives great scope for comedy, especially with Twigg. Played by Andy Cook, this is a really laid-back performance. Could Knott not be the killer, especially as he is almost always around the Village Hall, giving him plenty of opportunity. But what could be his motive?

As always, a wonderfully well cast set of actors whose comic timing is renowned in local theatre. What better way to welcome back their audiences as well than with a brilliant comedy. But when it comes to the big reveal of who did the deed, the breakdown is as good as any Poirot episode.

And talking of Poirot and other famous detectives, see how many of the great detective themes you can spot in between the scene changes.

Directed by Dennis Baggarley, this show is tight and the comedy flows smoothly, and there is plenty of it as well.

The set changes are carried out without any fuss and with speed, the sound design (Daniel Andrews) was crisp and precise and blended well with what the play was all about, the lighting was simple but effective to close and open the scenes (Iain Walton). The set was well observed for detail, but as the play about a Village Hall was performed inside a Village Hall, the group would not have far to look for realism. that said just looking at the notices on set and the signs that should be in a Village Hall were all there. Love the realism. All props and costumes fitted the play and the characters and were provided by the cast themselves.

A tremendously entertaining play, written by Derek Webb, which will have you scratching your head to work out whodunnit, but provide you with a multitude of comedy, as well as red herrings, along the way. Very clever word-play in the writing by the way.

“Agatha Crusty and The Village Hall Murders” is being performed at Ravenshead Village Hall until Saturday 2 October, so go get a ticket pretty sharpish!