Our table was called “Confused.com”. How apt. Helen Sadler really set those little grey cells throbbing with this murder mystery: What? The Butler Saw? We looked long and hard at the least obvious character, Miss Charity Blackstock, the quietest, the most pious, the most insignificant candidate as our choice of murderer. She of the ‘twousers’ and ‘wubies’. Actually, we were right but we didn’t follow her through to the end. Her motive, she claimed, was to teach the stingy victim (the butler) a lesson but not to actually kill him. That was an accident although administering arsenic into his tea doesn’t sound very accidental to me.

The story line aside, I just loved the characterisation of each player. Munter, (David Spiller) the hapless victim, was the archetypal butler, shadowy, pompous but fawning. His wife, Mrs Munter (Gaynor Barton), was the quietly despairing housekeeper who wasn’t nearly as subservient as she seemed. Lord Danvers (Matt Gudger) was a supercilious duffer while his wife, Lady Sybil (Jackie Johnstone) convinced us as the bright, but thwarted, trophy wife, bringing her fortune into the Danvers family to replace what the old man had frittered. Miss Blackstock (Ginnie Willcocks), our murderer maintained her memorable speech defect (‘wed woses’) while casting her eyes to heaven and Good Works. As for Miss Emmeline Fenhurst (Val Gillings), supporter of the suffragette movement, you really wouldn’t want to cross swords with her! Edgar Stanley (Craig Johnstone) was perhaps the most obvious suspect as the chimney sweep who had been cheated out of his pay. His cockney accent and gruff manner never faltered. Hannah the cook (Sharon Gudger), was big and blousy, noisy and complaining but it was she who got the job done (even including the delicious platters for the audience). And finally, Inspector Flook of The Yard (Neil Jones) generated an authority that you expect of the police and much needed for crowd control!

All the players skillfully created these characters and maintained them even throughout the various phases of questioning. No mean feat.

So well done team. You entertained a large audience who enjoyed a splendid evening. And a very big thank you to Helen Sadler who wrote the script, directed the action and made the event happen.

Judith Rodgers