Play keeps its mystery until the end
Who is the real killer in The Unexpected Guest?
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Updated: February 08, 2010 8:49 PM
The latest Ladysmith Little Theatre production is a whodunit with a dense plot that keeps the audience guessing until the final moments.
Written by Agatha Christie, The Unexpected Guest is set in the countryside home of Richard Warwick, a disliked invalid who is found shot to death at the opening of the play.
The story follows several main characters as they each conspire to either unravel or further conceal the truth surrounding Warwick’s mysterious death.
His body is discovered by Michael Starkwedder (Earle Gibson), a stranger who enters the house after his car crashes in a nearby ditch. When Starkwedder also finds Warwick’s wife Laura (Carolyn Kuhn) in the room with a gun, he quickly hatches a plan to protect her from criminal charges.
While Starkwedder and Laura Warwick remain central figures throughout the play, other characters are soon drawn into the web of deception and manipulation.
With a slate of suspects to inspire numerous theories, the answer to the play’s central question remains elusive.
There is a fair amount of explanatory dialogue required to move the elaborate, twisting plot forward. While characteristic of the murder mystery genre, this still poses a challenge for the actors who attempt to breath life into the dry passages. Audience members also must remain attentive if they want to keep up.
The nine actors give each character a distinctive presence, creating a motley group that brings some levity to the play during comedic moments.
The stage design attempts to evoke the mid-twentieth century Welsh setting with leather furniture and an extensive book collection. It also features grisly artifacts from Richard Warwick’s days as a big-game hunter, including what appear to be a bear head and leopard skin mounted on the wall.
The Unexpected Guest runs until Feb. 21. For information phone 250-924-0658 or visit www.ladysmiththeatre.com.
