Set in 1962, Marina Gregg (Sara Crowe), a famed American movie star, has come to a village in England. For reasons that become clear in the narrative, she is making a ‘comeback’ after stepping away from the limelight. A Hollywood production company is shooting a period drama about the wives of Henry VIII – her co-star, Lola Brewster (Saskia Strallen), can’t always recall her lines, which at face value makes a scene in which the same dialogue is repeated amid cries of ‘Cut!’ and ‘Action!’ from director Jason Rudd (Jordan Taffe-Wilson) more than a tad tedious. It transpired there was a point to it all, after something occurred that could have (but, spoiler alert, didn’t) caused a tragedy.
Repetition of dialogue was something of a running theme throughout the evening. It was as if the audience apparently required spoon-feeding. Entering the mindset of Jane Marple (Liza Goddard), a private investigator or otherwise an amateur sleuth, depending on one’s point of view, required examining the same ‘evidence’ (inverted commas mine) over and over again, and making inferences and judgements along the way. The question as to ‘whodunnit’ in this case seemed to simply become evident anyway by way of an incident in the dying (pardon the pun) moments of the play, which, I’m sorry to report, served to underline how frustratingly humdrum the show was.
Marple’s friend Dolly Bantry (Annie Wensak) is curious as to why Marple’s maid, Cherry Baker (Elysia Showan), boarded a bus. Does that mean anybody who ever boards a bus to go anywhere is a potential murderer simply by boarding a bus? So many narrative strands were opened and then left abandoned, which might well be expected as far as murder investigations go, but it doesn’t make for riveting theatre.
Goddard’s Miss Marple was meant to be having mobility problems: Act One, Scene One starts with her sat in an armchair with a sprained ankle resting on a footstool. But she either makes a remarkable recovery or, otherwise, as I contend, there was a failure to convincingly move about, as though Marple really wasn’t able to put weight on her left leg. A pity Dolly Bantry, or indeed anyone else, didn’t see fit to question that. Marple had an almost deity-like status in this play’s world: under questioning from this amateur detective, Marina Gregg wants to know who Marple is. A reasonable request, but one which was ignored, and off Marple went, with her not-sprained ankle, asking Gregg more questions.
The costumes were suitably period, whether on the film set of a movie set in the early 1500s or in the 1960s of the play’s main story. The theatre’s aisles were kept busy during the show with various characters entering and exiting. Marple had a front door, not visible on stage, but otherwise people seemed to come and go from various settings at will. Occasionally someone would ask someone else why they were there. I don’t recall hearing a satisfactory answer. It didn’t help, either, that the topic of self-harm was brought up but dealt with rather tactlessly. As ever at The Mill at Sonning, the pre-show dinner was delicious and delightful. It was a pity the show itself was overcooked.
Review by Chris Omaweng
A picture-perfect village. A glittering party. A chilling murder.
When a glamorous film star returns to St. Mary Mead and throws an opulent gathering at Gossington Hall, the evening ends in sudden, shocking death. As gossip ripples through the close-knit community, one guest begins to see the sinister patterns others overlook… the ever-watchful Miss Marple.
In a world of dazzling façades and hidden grudges, nothing is quite as it seems. As Miss Marple peels back layers of lies and long-held secrets, she uncovers a heart-stopping story of obsession, betrayal and revenge.
CAST in alphabetical order
Marina Gregg – Sara Crowe
Miss Jane Marple – Liza Goddard
Cyril Leigh / Assistant Director – Paul Kemble
Ella Zielinsky – Lydia Kirton
Chief Inspector Dermot Craddock – James Mack
Heather Leigh – Jane Quinn
Giuseppe Renzo – Martin Razpopov
Cherry Baker – Elysia Showan
Lola Brewster – Saskia Strallen
Jason Rudd – Jordan Taffe-Watson
Dolly Bantry – Annie Wensak
CREATIVES
Adaptor – Rachel Wagstaff
Director – Jonathan O’Boyle
Casting Director – Jane Deitch
Set Designer – Michael Holt
Lighting Designer – Jamie Platt
Sound Designer – Nick Lodge
Fight Director – Alison de Burgh
Agatha Christie’s THE MIRROR CRACK’D
The Mill at Sonning
4 September to 31 October 2026
