Agatha Christie’s ‘Go Back for Murder’ @ Rover Dramawerks

Photos courtesy of Rover Dramawerks

—Jan Farrington

From time to time, Dame Agatha Christie took a notion to adapt one of her globally popular mystery novels for the theatre. And so she did with the Hercule Poirot mystery story Fice Little Pigs, which in 1960 became (with some tweaking, and no Poirot) the stage play Go Back for Murder.

You’ll find it playing in a longish but lively production at Rover Dramawerks, directed by Kathleen Vaught, and with dialect coaching by Rover AD Carol Rice. It’s so very English I was proper chuffed at the teacups continually going ‘round onstage. Why not offer some to the audience members as well—all of us working hard to unravel the plot threads and follow them to the whodunnit?

Without Poirot leading the charge, it’s a young woman and a lawyer who become the detectives, a nice twist for a Christie storyline. Carla Crale (Chloe Vilegas), a 21-year-old traveling from Canada, turns up in the London office of solicitor Justin Fogg (Christian R. Black). Her mother Caroline Crale (played later by Vilegas) was accused of murdering her artist-father Amyas Crale (Russell Sims) when Carla was a child of five. Sixteen years have gone by—but Carla only recently learned about the family history from her adopted parents, who also gave her a letter from her mother, who died in prison.

In the letter, Caroline tells Carla that she is innocent of the murder. Carla is shocked, but decides that before she moves on with her life, she wants to find the truth, if she can. Fogg (whose late father defended Caroline and lost; young Justin was a fascinated teenager attending the trial) agrees to help her.

Act One is a series of encounters with each of the five people who were at the Crale’s country house on the day of Amyas’ murder. The clever staging of the play (a row of chairs along the back of the stage) keeps the five onstage even when they’re not “in” the action, and a sonorous clock chimes the hours—or in this case, perhaps the years. It’s a simple and evocative way to keep the subject of time on our minds.

Carla and Fogg hear each of the character’s memories and stories, and their ideas about who (not them) might have wanted to kill Amyas. This is a story about fading memories, self-justifications, hidden feelings, and many more all-too human emotions. Who could have done it, and why, if Caroline did not?

There are the two Blake brothers (Blair Mitchell plays hot-tempered Philip, and Martin Mussey the timid herbologist Meredith), both old friends of Amyas and Caroline. There’s Amyas’ young mistress/art model Elsa (Jenny Wood), fiercely possessive of the future with him she wants. On the scene is Caroline’s half-sister Angela (Karina Barrett), now a well-known archaeologist (and then a surly teen who enjoys pranking the grownups). And there’s Angela’s governess Miss Williams (Sue Goodner), who holds very strong opinions about everyone’s behavior.

The only way to sort out this cluttered heap of stories, memories, and contraditions, it seems, is to return (surprise!) to the Scene of the Crime—and pretend it’s 16 years ago. That’s Act Two, and it’s pretty lively, what with wife v. mistress meet-ups, old crushes coming to life, motives galore, and a murder in the garden room that nobody seems to notice much: Amyas, who’s been painting (and dying) at his easel, stumbles to his feet after everyone wanders off, and falls as flat as a tree in the forest.

The ensemble works well together, each actor creating some vivid moments for their character. I enjoyed the warmth and humor between Fogg and Carla, the Blake brothers’ wildly different personalities; Amyas’ obnoxious ways; the mature Elsa’s tigerish manner; Angela’s permanent state of pink-cheeked simmering rage; and Miss Williams’ certainty that she is, in fact, the judge of everything around her. Jennifer Grace has a moment as the Fogg’s longtime office assistant, and Aidan Fenton as Carla’s not-a-keeper fiance Jeff.

Go Back for Murder is what they used to call a “well-made play”—with plenty of fun clues and red herrings to keep us busy until the world comes back into order. Done, dusted, Dame Agatha can put her feet up…and have, you know, a nice cuppa.

Until the next crime!

WHEN: October 3-19, 2024
WHERE: Cox Playhouse, Plano TX
WEB: roverdramawerks.com