Murder-mystery fun in Kilcullen this month

“Would, by any chance, Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot be in the audience?” It seems they are not. One is having sherry with friends at St Mary Mead, the other is getting his moustache waxed at Truefitt & Hill in London.

Meanwhile, a woman lies dead, poisoned, on the stage of Kilcullen’s Town Hall Theatre, the leading lady in a play within a play, Stage Fright, being performed by Kilcullen Drama Group.

Fortunately, retired detective Mick Tracey (played by Fergus Ryan) is enjoying a date night with his wife (Siobhan Patterson) in the audience. He immediately takes charge of the investigation, setting up an interrogation desk .

The first act involves all the cast, from the lead actors to the backstage crew, the prop managers, the sound and lighting technicians, the director, right down to the girls serving tea and coffee, being grilled on their motives and their thoughts as to “Whodunnit?”

Everyone on stage and behind it is a suspect. Who has a reason to see her dead (jealousy, spurned love, dangerous knowledge ...)? Who had the opportunity to put poison in her glass (friend, rival, props manager ...)? Who appears most suspicious, or so seemingly relaxed, as the clues and red herrings scatter across the stage while the cast tries to work out who the traitor among them is? Suspicion, motives, and finger-pointing will unfold as the story develops, keeping both actors and audience on their toes.

While the actors discuss the events leading up to the crime, they’ll be as much in the dark as the audience, because the name of the killer isn’t in the script, and won’t be revealed until the very last moments of the play. Detective Tracy has his work cut out for him, as there’s a cast list of twenty-five characters.

Revelations are made, and the stakes are raised until the killer is finally revealed.

Stage Fright is directed by Sinead McKenna, who also devised all the twists and turns, giving each character a motive and backstory.

“But each actor then has the chance to improvise their lines, and the interactions on stage,” says Sinead, a seasoned actor herself with the Kilcullen group. “During the interval (where the actors will remain in character serving tea and coffee), the audience will be invited to submit their guess as to who the killer is, with all the correct answers entered into a raffle which will take place at the end of the show.”

Stage Fright is performed for just one night, on Saturday 28 February. Tickets at €15 are available on Eventbrite and in Woodbine Books, Kilcullen.