This show was a winner in every respect: a superb cast including special guest stars Tom Conti and Jenny Seagrove, three of Aunt Agatha's finest yarns, and a good dollop of stage humour to boot!
It is always a joy to see Conti in action and, in this production, he skilfully walked the line between being the big star of the show and not over-shadowing his co-stars' performances.
His facial asides, particularly directed at the sound-effects performer, were well timed and hilarious.
Personal Call, Hercule Poirot in The Yellow Iris and Butter In a Lordly Dish were the three short radio plays performed by the cast. They were all strong, but I particularly enjoyed Butter In a Lordly Dish, a moralistic tale in which a womanising prosecution barrister got his just desserts at the hands of the widow (Jenny Seagrove) of a man wrongly hanged for murder.
The Agatha Christie Theatre Company cast - Louise Faulkner, Simon Linnell, David Osmond, Adrian Metcalfe and Elizabeth Payne - were marvellously versatile, in accents and musically.
It was a classic piece of one-right rep.
My favourite performer was Alexander Bermange - "pianist and Foley Artist". He played the sound effects to maximum comic effect - with, of course, the collaboration of Conti and other cast members.
It was wireless meets stage drama meets comedy. A thoroughly well acted and directed tongue-in-cheek production!
*****
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