SINCE its formation in 2012, the Taunton based @2KTheatre has made extensive tours of Somerset, taking comedy and drama to many small venues where there no longer is a local non-professional company.

Picking up several awards en route, they have presented classic comedies – Noel Coward’s Private Lives, Alan Bennet’s Habeus Corpus and The Lady in the Van, often raiding TV and film for The Titfield Thunderbolt, ‘Allo ‘ Allo! and The Vicar of Dibley.

For this summer’s tour, which started at the Tacchi Morris Arts Centre, the company has delved back into steam radio for an author, Francis Durbridge, who wrote 20 series of murder mysteries featuring his suave gentleman sleuth Paul Temple, attracting millions odd listeners each week. Paul Temple later made successful moves into the world of TV and film. In the 1970s, Durbridge began to write for the stage,in the next 20+ years presenting nine mystery thrillers, not all featuring Temple.

@2K Theatre’s choice has would-be author and shrewd detective Cliff Jordan (Alan Coles) who, while appearing to have only half his mind on the job, in reality sees through all the red herrings and lies to apprehend the culprit. Who did kill the murderous Jack Radford (Dick Gibbons), who had been plotting to kill his rich wife Sarah (Lynda Coles) for her money. Was it either Jack’s young girlfriend Anna (Karen Bolton), Sarah’s best friend Kate (Nikki Court), her solicitor Arnold Buston (Rob Smith), brother Edward (Michael Starr), Dr Margot Young (Lorna Evans), ambitious would-be business partner Geoffrey Curtis (Samuel Gibbons), or perhaps the spiky housekeeper Mrs Baker (Marie Fletcher)?

In common with most of Francis Dubridge’s thrillers, suspicion falls in turn in every character … but be careful about making pick the villain, because two other members of the cast will die in suspicious circumstances before we reach the denouement. What you could do is, like a party sitting next to me in the interval at the Tacchi Morris, have a sweepstake as to whodunnit.

GRP

Catch the tour at Nynehead Memorial Hall on Thursday 12th June, Cheddon Fitzpaine Memorial Hall on Friday 13th June or Bishops Lydeard Village Hall on Saturday 14th June.