"Father Brown - A Crime At Christmas" by John Goodrum based on the GK Chesterton stories.

Tabs Productions

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The second play in the annual Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season is another Father Brown tale starring Mr John Lyons in the title role. Not so much a "thriller" as a mystery whodunnit.

The scene is set in Mrs Adam's home in London around the early 1930's. Three priceless diamonds, who were gifted to Ruby by her very rich Godfather, disappear mysteriously in the midst of a pantomime at a festive house party, Father Brown, one of the guests, is on hand to try to unmask the culprit. Is the thief one of the guests? And who is the unexpected guest who arrives at the door halfway through the charade? Could he be involved or is he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? If anyone can unravel this mystery, then Father Brown, the cassocked conundrum crusher can!

John Lyons is Father Brown. The play starts with Father Brown alone on stage to set the scene, acting partly as narrator at various stages throughout. By watching Father Brown, you see his reactions to various snippets of information drip fed by the other characters; but will any of his reactions help solve the mystery? John Lyons is as smooth and unruffled throughout, the ultimate professional, of course not forgetting that this isn't the first, or second time that he has played this man of the cloth.

Lara Lemon plays Ruby Adams. This role is the opposite of last week's role with Ruby being quite an excitable character, very much of the time, almost debutante-esque. Her energy is lovely to behold, as is her adoration for John, the neighbouring boyfriend.

David Osmond plays Ruby's boyfriend, a socialist and pianist called John Crook - great name for a character in a mystery play involving the theft of diamonds - is this a hint or just a red herring? Not only do we get to see more, only slightly over the top acting, but we get to hear David's piano skills as well. A fun character, but surely he wouldn't steal from his girlfriend, would he?

Jeremy Lloyd Thomas plays Sir Leopold Fischer, Ruby's Godfather. This character really stood out for me, and not only for the "bah humbug" style and Fischer's wonderful grumpiness, but for the amazing costume he wears. The style straight away denotes the time period with the top hat, scarves and layers of clothing; quintessentially classic. I almost even bought into the idea that was mentioned regarding the diamonds' disappearance and Sir Leopold. Jeremy is one of those classic actors who you know will deliver time and time again with style.

Susan Earnshaw plays Ruby's mother, and the widow of Colonel Adams, Mrs Adams. Now, here is a completely different character from last week, more serious, and it's nice to see that contrast. That said there were some very nice comic moments, especially with the pantomime scene.

John Goodrum is James Blount, Mrs Adams brother-in-law from Canada. He has descended on the family at Christmas because they have never met before, so thought it time to acquaint himself with everyone. His idea to stage the pantomime to liven up the Christmas celebrations, and invite his friend Florian to join in the pantomime, is met with gusto by most of the assembled family, apart from one!

Juliette Strobel, who in last week's thriller played Ethel, a maid, this week plays Maisie, a maid to Mrs Adams. Again, a slightly different role from last week, where the comedy was prominent. This maid was more of what you'd expect from a maid in service, but in the absence of a butler, could it be the maid that done it? After all, she was in charge of Fischer's various items of clothing!

Pavan Maru plays Florian, who is a renowned French acrobat and comedy actor. Only a small role in this play as the policeman, as requested by Blount, because after all, Florian being a comedy actor, he had access to the best costumiers up and down the country, so making an appearance as a policeman is no big deal. His time spent in the story is quick, especially with his acrobatic exit. Pavan looks so much younger in this role in comparison to his role from last week, and that is partly due to the costumes he wore last week, and the facial hair from last week gone.

Karen Henson directs this mystery. It is fast and furious, almost as if any clues that may be shown, had to be moved on as fast as possible, so as not to be detected. OK, it may not be an out and out thriller; it shows the variety and versatility of Tabs. There is normally one of the four plays where the comedy is uppermost, and this is the one for this year. And in one way the comedy also hides the real one wot dunnit! Anyone who has seen any amount of productions directed by Karen will see what a brilliant Director she is and what a varied Director she is.

John Goodrum, not only wrote this and acts in it, but also designed the set. The writing is slick and funny, and it's not an easy task to write something as fast and funny, and keep to the G K Chesterton standard, but John has done it. He is no stranger to writing for the stage, and knows his craft when writing for actors that he has worked with, to get the maximum impact from his words.

The set design is simplistic in that it doubles as the outside as well as the inside of the house, with just the doors, massive as they are, showing the portal as the exit and entrance points; the audience appreciated this point, confirming the fact with pleasant realisation. Apart from the static piano, the props were brought on and taken off by cast members. Conal Walsh's input in the design of the set also has to be noted.

Michael Donaghue's Lighting Design created the magic of Christmas, especially the way they reflected on the windows, making them seem alive with Christmas lights. The arrival of Sir Leopold Fischer's car was excellently done by making us imagine the car, just by headlights alone.

The Sound Design is by David Gilbrook. What I love about David's design in this area, is that everything is naturally sounding; you expect to hear whatever sound effect at the time that you should be hearing it. It's never obtrusive and is always timed to perfection and sound distance is always observed. As I say, a very natural sound design.

What I will also say is that nobody on stage had need of microphones, or any amplification, because they all know how to project at just the right level. It's not many theatre companies can perform to this aural standard. Something that should be appreciated in a theatre the size of the Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The costumes have been designed by Geoff Gilder and this area is where we really get the feel for the time the play is set in. With pantomime being a key aspect, especially in the1930's, the costumes are wonderfully colourful. Loved the pajama suit that Crook wears which contrasts perfectly with the class attire of Fischer's. Ruby's pantomime outfit also gave rise for several comedy moments, possibly unintentionally.

I did hear murmuring that this shouldn't class as a "thriller" conventionally, and that it was a little out of place with it being set at Christmas, but I spotted three channels on TV that now are only showing Christmas films. Anyway, the Classic Thriller Season isn't here at Christmas, and I was thrilled with this production, so it ticks the box for me. Look on this show as an early Christmas present to yourself. And like a Christmas present, the layers are revealed to eventually reveal the answer to the mystery inside.

"Father Brown - A Crime At Christmas" will be at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 12 August.