Wanted One Body

Reporter: Colin Meredith
Date online: 11/06/2008

Comic timing has to be one of the hardest things to master, but in 'Wanted One Body' the cast, especially the two bumbling solicitors, had that down to a fine art. Under the direction of Mavis Shellard the cast held the suspense and the audiences attention throughout the evening.The play is set at the early part of the century and the characters are gathered to hear the reading of the late Charles Barraclough's will at the dismal Greenacres.

Gathered there are his stepdaughter Miss Faith, Mabel the maid, Agnes the cook, Anne Beale the secretary, Ted Johnson the chauffeur and the two previously mentioned solicitors. When the will is read we find his fortune has, shockingly, been split between the servants. Miss Faith is furious. She vows to get her own back, and it is not long before she starts complaining of bitter-tasting tea, and she is lying spread-eagled across the sofa. Amy Taylor who played both Miss Faith and her even nastier sister, Miss Hope, showed she had no intention of letting the servants get at 'her' fortune. She relished the part snarling and sneering convincingly at her subordinates. Joanne Frost, who played the maid, was excellent as a servant who quaked in her shoes, fearing the eyes of the dead were constantly watching her. Secretary Anne Beale played by Susan Howarth was convincing opposite the sometimes threatening chauffeur Ted Johnson who she planned to marry. Looking every bit the cook Lynda Kent as Agnes did not disappoint as she became more concerned at the unfolding events at Greenacres.

But the two main characters, solicitors Ian Mansfield as Mr Blundell and his nephew Mr Mickleby played by Andy Mckay, stole the show with their carefully crafted, apparently effortless, slapstick routines. They kept bumping into, or falling on top of each other and made good use of stage props to get laughs.

The complicated plot includes the intervention of the eccentric Doctor Brown played by the experienced Bert Price and the arrival of the undertaker Mr Sorrell played by the sombre Michael Cole. With a secret panel to help the plot twist and turn and with atmospheric sound and lighting and an impressive set, the success of the piece was tangible.

St Ann's Players