Following the success of Cluedo which toured the UK in 2022, director Mark Bell (The Play that Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery) is back with a sequel for the original game’s 75th anniversary.
Cluedo 2 follows the same beats as the original stage play based on the 1985 film, but with a 1960s twist. The new era brings updated larger-than-life characters, far out costumes and a groovy soundtrack – though it feels like they could have maybe done more to bring the swinging 60s vibe to the forefront, as at times you’re only reminded of the time period by the presence of Miss Scarlett’s go-go boots.
The new story, written by BAFTA Award winners Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, takes place at Graveney Manor, recently purchased by failing rock star Rick Black. Hoping to revive his music career, Rick gathers together his disgruntled wife Mrs Emerald Peacock, cocky American agent Colonel Eugene Mustard, hanger-on “Professor” Alex Plum, and interior designer Miss Annabelle Scarlett, to listen to his new masterpiece. But with the arrival of Wadsworth (he’s NOT a butler) and old writing partner the Reverend ‘Hal’ Green, the night begins to unravel into mystery, mayhem and murder.
The staging, as with all of Mark Bell’s plays, is cleverly executed with cast members manoeuvring props and set pieces as we swap from room to room. Cluedo featured a series of walls folding in and out like a game board to give the illusion of rooms, but this time they’ve scrapped the walls altogether. Yet it works just as well, playing with elements in a way that’s a bit classic, a bit meta.
This allows the cast to whip through rooms, capturing the frenzied energy of its combined source material with musical montages, carefully choreographed chase scenes and occasionally a set piece accidentally-on-purpose in the wrong place – a nod to Bell’s other productions that fans will appreciate.
The play creates that same nudge-nudge wink-wink relationship with the audience as its predecessor, whether that’s with a sequence of food-based innuendos or increasingly over-the-top reactions to yet another body
Of the cast of classic-with-a-twist characters, clear audience favourites are Dawn Buckland as sarky housekeeper Mrs White, and Jack Bennett as not-a-butler Wadsworth. Hannah Boyce gets her own share of laughs as the toffee-voiced Mrs Peacock, and Liam Horrigan lends an air of Tim Curry to the production as Rick Black and other characters throughout the play.
The whole cast does an incredible job of keeping pace with the action throughout, whether they’re zipping about between room changes or popping their heads out from the wings on the beat. Mrs White in particular always seems to be in more than one place at once, adding to the illusion of an old manor house with countless hidden passages for sneaking around.
The play creates that same nudge-nudge wink-wink relationship with the audience as its predecessor, whether that’s with a sequence of food-based innuendos or increasingly over-the-top reactions to yet another body. The plot becomes increasingly ludicrous as we barrel towards the conclusion, and we once again lose track completely of ‘whodunnit’. But as with everything that came before, that’s not where the fun lies.
Cluedo 2 is sure to delight audiences with a love of classic slapstick, lighthearted comedy and a soft spot for the 75-year old board game.
Cluedo 2 is on at the Theatre Royal Nottingham now until Saturday 25th May.
trch.co.uk
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