Theatre Royal Concert Hall Nottingham – until 25th May 2024
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
3***
I am a huge fan of a who-done-it and have been an ardent player of Cluedo since I could hold a die. I jumped at the chance to see the theatre rendition of the game and was doubly excited when I realised it was created by BAFTA Award winning writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, and directed by Mark Bell who directed the rather marvellous ‘The Play That Goes Wrong‘.
However, Cluedo 2 is a play divided. The backdrop set is stunning and some of the performances are spectacular, but the script and story are disappointing. A lot of the gags fall flat, they are repeated endlessly as are the chase scenes and there is little to no structure. Some characters have full backstories, others are fodder.
The flimsy plot, as far as I could make out, is that 1960s rockstar Rick Black gathers a group of people in his new, expensive country manor house to listen to his new album which will send him back to the top of the charts and boost his career. We get introduced to his supermodel wife, Mrs Peacock, his manager, Colonel Mustard, his roadie Professor Plum, his interior designer Miss Scarlett and the housekeeper who came with the house Mrs White. Arriving later is Rick’s former song-writing partner, the Reverend Green and Wadsworth the Butler who proclaims he is not a butler many, many times. There is also a chap called Mr Grey and blink and you might miss him, PC Silver.
The backstory for each character is unbalanced. I’m not sure why some characters are involved, perhaps this was the mystery? The narrative is confusing and disjointed and we bore witness to the least convincing love scene in the history of theatre. There is no way to solve the mystery as random things are thrown in all over the place. Its farcical, but for all the wrong reasons.
Again divided, the ensemble isn’t as coherent as it could be. Ellie Leach as Miss Scarlett is one note, offering no shades of light and dark as her character develops. I didn’t even realise Edward Howells was Professor Plum. This is not necessarily down to his acting but poor writing and costume design. Jack Bennett as Wadsworth the “I’m an actor, not a butler” milked this single joke until it became painful. Again, this was partially down to the writing. However, Dawn Buckland as Mrs White, was a joy to watch but it was Liam Horrigan who gave the play some redemption. Reminiscent of the late, great Tim Curry, he absolutely embraced every character he played, nailed every gag, verbal and physical and completely stole the show.
Cluedo 2 has so much potential, but in its current format, its messy. I’m sure there are some who will appreciate the surface level slapstick humour and cyclical gags, but I feel it’s currently coasting on the brand name