The Cluedo franchise has long been more than just a classic whodunnit board game. It ran as a game show for years in the 1990s, and there has already been one play. The latest stage version Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter premiered last night at the Grand Theatre.
My memories of playing Cluedo as a child were that it was reasonably earnest as board games of the time went. By deductive reasoning you were tasked with identifying which suspect had murdered Doctor Black, in which room of a mansion and using what weapon. There’s a nod to that in Cluedo 2, the character who dies early in the first act is a faded pop star called Mr Black. Get beyond that though and it’s essentially a farce under the nominal guise of a murder mystery.
The cast includes Jason Durr of Heartbeat and Casualty fame as Colonel Mustard, and Coronation Street actress and 2023 Strictly winner Ellie Leach as Miss Scarlett. Both put in strong performances, but I was also impressed by Dawn Buckland as the domestic of the house Mrs White.
The production is set in the 1960s. Some of the references are of their time and for that reason it is probably best suited to a relatively mature audience as was there for the opening night. Reference to ‘snafu’ for example would probably go over the heads of most younger people, and even the ongoing butler gags are probably from a certain time in British society and humour. It wasn’t a surprise to discover the play is written by Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks, who have been stalwarts of British sitcom writing since the 1980s, mining a rich seam of good natured nostalgia (excepting their Rik Mayall vehicle The New Statesman).
It’s hard to say too much more without giving away whodunnit, whilst fully acknowledging that it also doesn’t really matter a jot who actually dunnit.
After some initial scene setting the night quickly gets into a groove of fast paced jokes. It’s one of those productions where if you don’t get the joke it’s not a big deal as the next one is coming round the corner. If Tim Vine wrote a screenplay it would probably be like this. It’s a mixture of slapstick, innuendo and comic timing. It was well received by the audience, I’m assuming everyone had done their homework and knew it was going to be a knockabout comedy.
The cast do the scenery changes in a novel interlude which worked visually, but was a bit unnerving aurally as it gave the impression a musical number was about to start and it never did. There are a number of clever knowing references, including the way in which the production both segues into the interval and gets going again afterwards.
It’s hard to say too much more without giving away whodunnit, whilst fully acknowledging that it also doesn’t really matter a jot who actually dunnit. Be prepared for a larger role from the stuffed bear than seems likely at the outset, and expect never to see the phrase ‘double dipping’ in the same light that’s all I can really say.
Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter is at The Grand Theatre until 19th Oct. Book here.
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