Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie and adapted for the stage by Steven Dietz is designed to not only give your little grey cells a workout but to tickle your funny bone as well. Yes, this adaptation of Christie’s story is murderously funny while still retaining all the intrigue, mystery, and appeal of the original story. The fun, and there is much of it, comes from how the production is designed and the imaginative way in which the story is told.
To begin with I want to say how very much I like Trevor Rueger as the world-renowned Belgium Detective Hercule Poirot and Javelin Laurence as his trusty companion and friend Captain Hastings. I would love to see more of these two in these roles on the Vertigo stage. They have a delightful chemistry and feel absolutely perfect as Poirot and Hastings. In fact, the whole cast is brilliant. And much of the success of any play is based on finding actors who fit their roles and interact with each other in a natural and appealing way and director Jenna Rodgers has certainly accomplished that and put together a terrific ensemble.
However there is one slight situation which requires a word of explanation. On the night I saw the play the very talented and well known to Calgary audiences Meg Farhall who plays Woman 1 was, due to illness, unable to perform. Stepping into the role was another well known and talented actor from the Calgary Community, Ayla Stephen. I have little doubt that Farhall is absolutely brilliant in the play, and I’m disappointed I didn’t see her performance but rest assured Ayla did a wonderful job and fit into the ensemble perfectly. Of course, we wish Farhall a full recovery and a speedy return to the stage. So, for this review I’ll be talking about Ayla’s performance, but the production stills will be of Meg Farhall.
The rest of the cast is composed of the highly versatile and talented Graham Percy, Heidi Damayo, and Todd Houseman. These three bring much fun to the proceedings as they play multiple roles and illustrate a keen sense of comic timing and playful story telling. The play is designed in such a way that one actor plays Poirot, and one actor plays Hastings, and the other four actors play multiple characters.
The story begins when Hastings meets a young lady, played by Heidi Damayo on a train who will only identify herself as Cinderella. Hastings is absolutely charmed by the young lady, but she departs and Hastings heads home and finds his flat mate Poirot restless and disappointed that no new adventure has surfaced to occupy his time and challenge the little grey cells. However, Hastings notices a letter in the post from a Paul Renauld, played by Graham Percy, asking Poirot that he come urgently as Renauld fears that his life may be in danger because of a secret he possesses.
This intrigues Poirot and with the call to adventure answered Hastings and Poirot arrive in France only to discover that Renauld has been murdered! His body was found in a shallow grave on a golf course adjacent to his estate. But of course, everything is not as it seems. And as usual in a Poirot story there are some delightful twists and turns along the way before the true identity and motive of the murderer is revealed.
The list of suspects includes Paul Renald’s wife Eloise Renald played by Alya Stephen who seems to have an alibi. There is Renald’s son Jack played by Todd Houseman who had argued with his father and made threats against him only days before. And there is Theodora Van Hoven played by Alya Stephen and Theodora’s daughter Marte Van Hoven played by Heidi Damayo who have recently moved into the neighbouring estate.
Much of the fun in a Poirot mystery comes from the fact that there are always plenty of suspects who have some connection to the murder. In this case that includs the mysterious young lady known as Cinderella and another young woman by the name of Bella Duveen who is also played by Heidi Damayo. Adding to this group of suspects there are a number of other characters including a weepy maid, Renauld’s lawyer, a judge, a station master, and a couple of characters from a previous murder similar to Renauld’s murder who may be connected in some way to the current investigation.
Poirot is not the only one investigating the crime. There is the local police Commissary Lucien Bex, played by Graham Percy who is more than happy to have Poirot on the case and marvels as Poirot turns up clue after clue after clue that Lucien’s own men have missed. In addition to Lucien there is Monsieur Girard a detective from the Paris Sûreté, played by Todd Houseman who sees himself equal to if not better than Poirot. The two rivals, decide to make things interesting by making a gentleman’s wager as to who will be first to solve the crime.
In addition to a terrific acting ensemble director Jenna Rodgers has assembled an outstanding design team including set designer Julia Kim, costume designer Jolane Houle, lighting designer Kathryn Smith, and sound designer Tori Morrison who also created additional compositions to add to the original music compositions by Robertson Witmer.
One of the things that keeps the energy up in a play is designing smooth transitions between scenes and in order to accomplish that you have to design a set and style of production that makes the scene changes feel like a dissolve on stage instead of stopping the action, moving things about, and beginning again. When we first take our seats, we are greeted with an empty stage with two very tall panels on either side. The stage is painted in beautiful garden colours that make us feel like we are being transported to a country estate in France where a substantial part of the play takes place.
There are a variety of locations including a golf course, an estate, a garden shed, a court of law, and a train station. To facilitate the various locations a few props are used when needed. Tall flats with a door to enter or exit from and with windows on the second floor through which we can observe the shadows of the occupants in the rooms above are wheeled on and off stage to create the various locations. During these transitions the dialogue and music continue and so the action and energy never stops. Adding to the ambience is the lighting design which leads our eye to particular places on stage and creates a unique feeling for each location.
The music – and there is plenty of it – is a particularly fun element. It adds to the comic moments by underscoring the sudden reveals, red herrings, and clues and plays up some of the melodrama of the murder mystery genre. The music never overpowers what’s happening on stage or being said by the characters but instead blends perfectly and naturally with the dialogue and action.
You know one of the fun things about a great fictional character is that it gets many interpretations. In fact, part of the joy of Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes, and Felix Unger is not just the written text, but also the unique qualities each actor brings to the character. So, when it comes to Poirot, I love Peter Ustinov’s portrayal of the character and in particular his version of Death on the Nile because he adds an element of comical mischief to his Poirot. I love David Suchet’s Poirot because I think he really embraces the vision that Christie had for the character, and he often seems during his investigations to ponder the morality of mankind. And Kenneth Branaugh’s egg obsessed Poirot is all about the moustache, I think. A bold choice. And moustache aficionados everywhere will be excited to know that there’s a rumour going around that Kenneth Branaugh’s moustache will be returning as Poirot for a fourth time in order to solve The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in a new movie adaptation of Christie’s classic novel.
So, the fun of seeing a stage production is we get to see a new interpretation of the character by one of our local actors. Trevor Reuger’s performance as Poirot is a delight. Trevor is a master of comedy and like most good comic actors he also has a talent for the dramatic and he’s able to be serious when needed and playful when needed. Yes, his Poirot is obsessed with order but his drive and determination to arrive at a solution is what makes him so much fun to watch and he is often two or three steps ahead of everyone else.
Javelin Laurence as Hastings brings a feeling of immediate trust and likability to their portrayal of Hastings. Much of the play has Hastings and other characters delivering narration directly to the audience and Laurence brings a charm and slightly naive honesty to their interactions with both the audience and other characters. But that can be forgiven because Hastings is a bit of romantic and their encounter with Cinderella has left them with hopes and feelings that we’ve all felt sometimes when we’ve had a brief encounter with someone and there’s been a little spark of interest between us.
The rest of the cast is just as marvelous and its so much fun to see them playing off each other and finding both the comedy and the mystery in the play. Whether she’s playing a weeping maid or the mysterious and brash and full of life Cinderella Heidi Damayo is a joy to watch. She knows how to turn a phrase or give a look to the audience that delivers a laugh or a more mysterious and sinister message.
Ayla Stephen can play big bold characters and Theodora Van Hoven the new neighbour is a big flamboyant and commanding woman who is clearly used to getting what she wants and she’s not afraid to do battle with Poirot or anyone else who stands in her way. In contrast to this powerhouse Ayla plays Eloise Renald the loving and grief-stricken widow with a sincere and emotional honesty.
Graham Percy brings an adoring fanboy quality to his portrayal of Commissary Lucien Bex who I wouldn’t be surprised to find out has a poster of Poirot on his study wall. Percy contrasts that characterization with some wonderful deadpan moments as he plays other characters including the grounds keeper, a train agent, and a front desk clerk.
Todd Houseman’s portrayal of Monsieur Girard from the Paris Sûreté has a delightful arrogance and cheerful pomposity that contrasts nicely with his portrayal of the emotional and fiery son Jack who is one of the main suspects in the murder. Houseman also portrays the family lawyer, and he physically feels very much like a snake as he slithers in and slithers out of scenes providing Poirot with the latest version of Paul Renauld’s will.
There are two particularly delightful parts to Steven Dietz’s inventive script that I’m going to share with you because telling you about them doesn’t dimmish how fun they are to watch, and I think they are in fact a huge drawing card that makes the evening memorable.
Since this is a cast playing multiple roles, situations arise where the actor playing one of their roles is required to play one of their other characters at the same time. For example, at one point in the play when Todd Houseman is playing Jack the son of the murder victim, he is suddenly required to also play Inspector Girard and interrogate Jack. Houseman’s quandary is shared by other cast members as they too are asked at times to double up and the resulting solutions the actors come up with results in plenty of laughter and fun.
This is Agatha Christie so – yes, the plot does get complicated. There are always a lot of characters to keep track of and motives to sort out and all these characters are usually lying about who they are, where they were, and what they know. So, to help the audience understand exactly what’s going on Poirot enlists the rest of the cast and a bunch of bowling pins dressed in little costumes that match the costumes of the characters in the play to help explain what we know so far. Needless to say, not only do we clarify the case and the suspects and their motives, but we also get to enjoy a lot of good laughs along the way.
Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre has all the zany fun of a play like Arsenic and Old Lace but still retains all the elements we’ve come to expect from a satisfying and puzzling mystery. Director Jenna Rodgers has worked her magic by gathering together a talented group of actors and designers who bring to life an inventive and clever script by Steven Dietz that makes for a fun and entertaining evening at the theatre.
Murder on the Links runs at Vertigo Theatre until Saturday December 21st with matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM and evening performances from Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 PM. Single tickets start at $30 and are available by calling the Vertigo Theatre Box Office at 403.221.3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.
