Six relative strangers gather in a cabin on an island for a fun weekend of thrills and murder mystery. When ghosts from the past haunt the proceedings, the game takes on a sinister dimension as it turns real - and the players are literally dropping dead. This is the premise behind A Party To Murder, the gripping thriller by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes, playing at the Vertigo Theatre from September 15th until October 7th.
“I always like to find Canadian work to put on stage and this was written by two Canadian playwrights. It is very much a tribute to Agatha Christie, it has got every secret twist, trick, special effect that you can pack into one play. You take everything from every great murder mystery and set it in a cabin on an island that they can’t get off of. It’s really a contemporary classic and is really fun and spooky,” Vertigo’s Artistic Director Mark Bellamy told GayCalgary and Edmonton magazine. “I defy anyone to figure out the ending. If anybody figures it out before it actually ends I would be very surprised, it is that well written. For fans of the classic type of mystery, people being trapped in a cabin is the archetypal image of the great mysteries. It’s like the classic Agatha Christie play Ten Little Indians except instead of ten people there are six…which is more affordable. It’s a great kickoff to the season.”
The show also marks the return to Vertigo of Calgary Theatre legend Stephen Hair, who steps into the role of director for the show.
“We are really looking forward to bringing Stephen back. He was the artistic director from 1990-1995 and directed many a play, and many of them Agatha Christie. This was the perfect choice to bring him back. He is very popular with our audience already and he knows this kind of work so so well. It was a great fit.”
This year marks the 31st season of Vertigo’s mystery series (the company was originally called Pleiades theatre) and they are the only professional theatre company in Canada that specializes in producing Mystery Genre work. We asked Mark what keeps people coming back to the unique niche of mystery theatre.
“As a society we have this great love of puzzles and people love to figure things out, whodunnit and why. Agatha Christie is the best selling author of all time - outsold only by the works of William Shakespear and the Bible. J. K. Rowling isn’t even close to touching Agatha Christie yet. You look back at classic cinema, or even how many different versions of CSI and Law and Order are on TV. People are fascinated by the mystery, and when watching people try to figure it out before the ending, and that is the popularity of the art form,” he replied. “What I love about it in its theatrical styling is that it is immediately engaging to an audience. They understand what it is. Unlike a great play that you just sit back and absorb, our theatre, no one sits back everyone is on the edge of their seat watching for clues and trying to figure it out. It is the most actively engaged audience I have come across in theatre. The discussions in the lobby are great because everyone has a theory and is trying to figure it out. Our audiences spend the entire intermission talking about the play, it is amazing the eye for detail that people have. It is a lot of fun to scare the crap out of people.”
And yes, A Party To Murder likely will fall into the “scare the crap out of you” department.
“There are some good, creepy thrills in this show. The power goes out, of course. It is different than watching it on film because you are distant from film. When people are stuck in the cabin and plunged into the dark, it’s a lot more visceral and creepier because you are right there with them, in the same room as the killer. I wouldn’t go out in the woods after seeing it! Just don’t go to a cabin on an island with five people you don’t really know - that would be the moral in this story. And never look for someone in your underwear. It is a sure way to die. There is no underwear in the show everyone is in their pajamas.” We asked if the pajamas in this particular show were at all revealing, to which he responded, laughing, “You never know, you will just have to come and see it and find out.”
In case you still aren’t convinced, Mark has one last message as to why you should check out the 2007/2008 season opener of Vertigo Mystery Theatre.
“You will laugh, be scared, and engaged and intrigued. If you like any mystery in any form, you will love this. You will keep guessing and guessing, peeling away more layers like an onion and when you get to the core it is quite surprising. [There are] lots of great twists and turns. If you have never been here before you should definitely check it out because the work we do is really great. Our audience is growing rapidly, so get on board while there is still room!”
Vertigo Mystery Theatre presents
A Party To Murder
September 15th - October 7th
Vertigo Theatre (Calgary Tower)
(403) 221-3708
www.vertigotheatre.com
