Was it Colonel Mustard with a candlestick in the library? Cluedo show makes a game of murder
Based on the film based on the boardgame, this mystery-farce leans more into Benny Hill than Agatha Christie.
Was it Colonel Mustard with a candlestick in the library? Cluedo show makes a game of murder
**CLUEDO ★★½
**Playhouse, QPAC, until February 1
It’s hard to go wrong with cosy crime at the moment – just ask Richard Osman’s accountant – and crime doesn’t get much cosier than the guess-the-killer boardgame Cluedo (or Clue, as it’s known in the US).
This 2017 stage adaptation, which has toured the US, is based on the 1985 film, which flopped with critics and audiences but continues to enjoy a second life as a cult favourite.
Some of the cast of Cluedo (left to right): Laurence Boxhall (Reverend Green), David James (Professor Plum), Adam Murphy (Colonel Mustard), Grant Piro (Wadsworth), Rachael Beck (Mrs White), Genevieve Lemon (Mrs Peacock) and Olivia Deeble (Miss Scarlett). Credit: Jeff Busby
The movie was written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, co-writer of evergreen British sitcom Yes Minister, and you can only assume with Cluedo he was using the side of his brain that comes up with Bernard’s wilfully bad jokes rather than the one responsible for Sir Humphrey’s sparkling repartee.
The play version commencing its Australian tour in Brisbane at least gets to showcase polished comedic performances and some precision stagecraft. Luke Joslin directs physical comedy with panache, and both James Browne’s 1940s costumes and his modular set (channelling the neo-gothic mansion in the boardgame) never fail to please the eye.
Adam Murphy (Colonel Mustard) and Olivia Deeble (Miss Scarlett) in Cluedo.Credit: Jeff Busby
The characters are of course heightened game pieces: military duffer Colonel Mustard (Adam Murphy); flighty dowager Mrs Peacock (Genevieve Lemon); disreputable doctor Professor Plum (David James); black widow Mrs White (Rachael Beck); licentious Miss Scarlett (Olivia Deeble) and lily-livered Reverend Green (Laurence Boxhall).