Mrs Peacock’s Feathers – Alexander House, Auchterarder

In the depths of the Scottish countryside, I attended the birthday party celebrations of a close friend.  Alexander House was the perfect setting to host such an event, and in the evening, it functioned as the stage for quite a different theatrical experience.  The challenge for this company of actors, was to entertain the seventeen guests with a murder mystery evening, without prior knowledge that they were entertaining a theatre reviewer, and two police officers!

The theatre company that was booked for the evening were ‘Can You Catch The Killer?’ a company specialising in staging murder mystery events at a location chosen by the client.  Our remote house added another layer of eeriness to the proceedings, which were completely managed by the company.  The evening consisted of a three-course meal whose catering was arranged by us, and the performers were to stage their event pre-dinner, and then continue during our meal, ending with the final reveal.  Whilst we organised ourselves into teams, the company had already set up their own speakers to play some cleverly chosen music designed to set the nerves on edge, ready for their initial performance.  As we sipped our drinks, with a log fire blazing, the actors made their entrance and began by setting the scene.  Now just to explain further, the show that we had chosen was ‘Mrs Peacock’s Feathers,’ and it will not challenge your intellect too much to realise that this is a Cluedo based game.  This was recommended by the company, as it had been judged to be not too intricate, as no-one in our group had played before.

The characters are well known to those who play the board game, and present in the room that evening was Colonel Mustard (Kenny Boyle), Mrs White (Karen Bartke), and Reverend Green (David Boyle).  Offstage, but very much a part of the story were Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, and Mrs Peacock.  So, the fabric of the story is woven in the pre-dinner performance, with Colonel Mustard and Mrs White entering first, and entertaining us with witty anecdotes, whilst slipping in clues that we would need later, Reverend Green joined the party and then the murder was committed offstage, so no unsightly fake blood to get out of the carpet!

Once dinner had commenced it was our turn to perform, as in our teams, we were to interview the suspects, Mustard, White and Green.  The actors stayed remarkably in character, even after the grilling my team leader gave them, being a proper copper she knew how to turn up the heat, and I did notice that the actors had sweaty palms!  It is testament to their professionalism, that it was the first time that David Boyle had played the role of Reverend Green, and he was excellent.

As an event, murder mystery is an excellent way to bring people together, whether you know each other as friends, or as a team building exercise in business, it is flexible.  There is so much fun to have, but it does also test the little grey cells, and who knows, you may secretly be a Hercule Poirot or a Miss Marple!  I can highly recommend ‘Can You Catch The Killer?’ in particular, as they are professional throughout the booking process, and follow through with entertaining wordplay, excellent characterisation, and they create an atmosphere that is impossible not to enjoy.

If you would like further information about the company, go to – https://www.canyoucatchthekiller.com/

Reviewer: Caroline Worswick

Reviewed: 14^th December 2024

North West End UK Rating: