A day of culture today as we headed for Tolethorpe Hall with Jo, Janet and Carol to see the matinée performance of Agatha Christie’s, The Mirror Crack’d. The last time we all there was back in August last year, to see The Recruiting Officer and we’ve built up quite a track record of visits here!
Previous Visits to Tolethorpe
2007 – The Importance of Being Earnest
2008 – Romeo & Juliet
2009 – The Tempest
2009 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2015 – Henry V
2021 – The Importance of Being Earnest
2022 – Spiders Web
2024 – The Recruiting Officer
According to Tolethorpe’s website:-
Hollywood descends on the sleepy village of St Mary Mead when a glamorous American film star buys Gossington Hall. However, the real drama unfolds off-screen, when an unexpected and ruthless murder is committed during a party filled with suspects. It’s up to Miss Jane Marple to unravel a web of lies, tragedy and danger.
This fresh and witty adaptation of the Queen of Crime’s famous novel brings real emotional depth and psychological insight to a thrilling story of revenge and dark secrets. This amateur production of “The Mirror Crack’d” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
But before all that, there was Brunch!
After Brunch at the always-reliable Old Forge in Cranford, we squeezed into Janet’s car and headed for Stamford Shakespeare Company for an afternoon of murder!
On arrival, the grounds opposite the Hall were packed – I don’t think we’ve ever seen it so busy!
Well, maybe it was the gorgeous weather today!?
Inside, for those of you yet to visit, the design of the performance space means the stage is actually out in the open air – quite unusual, and perfect for today with the sun shining! 😎☀️🌞
Or was it? 😕. By the time the curtain went up at 1.30, it was pretty much a full house. That meant around 400 bodies all under the same roof! Cue, lots of theatre fans reaching for the other sort plus bottles of water. Thankfully, Janet had planned ahead and brought with us a coolbox containing bottles of iced water… and during the interval, something a little more alcoholic! 👍. It’s all quite ironic really, as in previous years, at some of these performances, we’ve been concerned about being too cold and brought blankets. I think this year was a first! 🥵🥵. The sight of soaking wet backs is never a good look – especially at the theatre (dahling!) 😕
And what of this afternoon’s performance? Well, they stuck mostly to the book, although I did feel that the first half was a little disjointed. I blame the heat, but I eventually realised that the short ‘musical sting’ every so often meant that the scene was now a flashback. Once I’d got that straight into my head, it was a lot easier to follow! Doh! 🤔.
The acting was top-notch, and the scenery was impressive. In the latter’s case, there was the innovative use of the ‘three-section’ revolving partition that allowed characters to appear briefly (and sometimes sequentially) to amplify some of Miss Marple’s deductions! Very clever! 👍. Folding wall panels were also part of the set-up that allowed the background to be easily and quickly changed to mirror (see what I did there?) the storyline.
Given this one is a mystery and not a musical, there wasn’t much of a soundtrack, but that didn’t matter as the storyline demanded a fair amount of concentration (especially for any ‘Mirror Crack’d Virgins in the audience).
Any negatives? Certainly not regarding the production itself – it was delivered with passion and professionalism throughout. Where problems did arise were down to Mother Nature and the effect of the heat on the audience. Within 25 minutes of the first half, Row G saw its first casualty! Luckily, there were plenty of first-aiders on-hand to deliver some much-needed TLC. As part 1 continued, a few others were seen wobbling, while others simply ‘did an Elvis’ and left the building – in search of something or somewhere cooler! After the interval, there were a lot more empty seats, where I think some of the audience just gave up. Meanwhile, the Players stuck to their mantra: ‘The Show must go on!”
In a way that was a shame, but with our summers getting warmer, Tolethorpe will need to come up with a permanent solution. Certainly, AC wouldn’t solve the problem (and would cost a fortune), but maybe some solar panels powering fans from the ceiling???
See you on Dragon’s Den! 😀
The performance ended around 4pm, and we all agreed that (heat aside) it had been a very enjoyable performance. Even the usual congested exit (always a ‘feature’ of the Tolethorpe experience), somehow, magically, evaporated, and we were soon on the road back to Kettering.
Happy days and it’s nice when the sun is shining – but not TOO much! 😉
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
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