ADAPTED by Leslie Darbon from Agatha Christie’s 50th book, this play is set in the 1950s with a cast led by Louise Jameson as Miss Marple.

An announcement placed in the local paper states that at 6.30 on Friday 13th, someone will be murdered at Letitia Blacklock’s country house. On that day several curious locals turn up in the early evening to see what, if anything, will happen, and to everyone’s astonishment on the stroke of 6.30 the lights go out, there are gunshots, and when order is restored there’s a strange man lying dead on the floor.

So begins a plot so littered with red herrings it’s rather an anti-climax when the real murderer is revealed. Confusing motivational issues include a super-rich employer, an ailing wife, inheritance possibilities, long-lost relatives and, if you believe Jane Shakespeare’s extraordinary housemaid Mitzi, secret agents from the Nazi party.

I confess that Agatha Christie is not a favourite of mine, and this adaptation necessarily cuts out some characters and scenes that may have improved the clarity. Although some of the actors are well-known and seasoned, the production has a whiff of the amateur; perhaps the costumes or the entertaining wigs are partly to blame. For Christie buffs, I suppose it comes up to scratch; who else might become a victim? What happened to the gun? And what about that pot of honey, and Mitzi’s famed chocolate cake? The characterisation is not strong enough to make such speculation enjoyable. Whodunit? Who cares?

Runs until Saturday. Box Office: 01325-486555

Sue Heath