The Unexpected Guest

The Unexpected Guest is a 1958 stage play by Agatha Christie, subsequently reincarnated by others as a novel and radio play.

Young director Jeremy Pyefinch has a personal connection to the script, but this did not prevent him from trying something new with what is a predictably wordy Christie offering.

Pyefinch bookends the play with projected movie credits, evocative of the silent film era. This conceit is extended by the physical presence of Iestyn Parry at the keyboard providing a moment-by-moment commentary on the action. Parry, a Tasmanian Treasure, augments tension, interprets interactions and cues humour with a score he has devised and improvises.

Parry is a unifying aspect of the show, but the farcical style of the opening scene is not uniformly sustained. Bailey Jackson as Michael Starkwedder establishes the self-aware, tongue-in-cheek, performance necessary to the style and tone of parody. His is a confident performance, made more enjoyable by the fact that he is clearly having fun in the role. His vocal characterisation and physicality are facetiously aware of the tropes and stereotypes.

Jackson is well matched in Emma Skalicky as Laura Warwick. Fully aware of the ridiculousness of the situation, their first scene banter intimates that the Christie cliches will be well and truly lampooned.  Skalicky is excellent but her culotte hems detract from her stunning shoes.

Direction for Sam Dean in the exposition promises much. Paul McNally, as Angell, the manservant, consistently draws on every stereotype of the genre. As a cross between Lurch and Riff Raff, his eye-acting game is strong. A partisan opening night audience responded very well to both Dean and McNally and the melodramatic style.

Sam Dean also plays Julian Farrar with the same knowing and satirical manner established by Skalicky and Jackson. He is slimy and objectionable.

The rest of the cast, although entirely capable, tend to play the show “straight”. Pip Tyrrell has many Agatha Christie plays under her belt but some of the direction sits uncomfortably.  Mrs Warwick is never a serious contender as murderer, and it is a feature of the writing that the pace slows during her scenes.

Giovanna Padas has a big scene with Bryce Tollard-Williams. Padas goads and prompts the young Jan Warwick to a climactic moment which is meaty stuff for both actors. Tollard-Williams has a challenging character to depict but one which demands a sympathy which is impossible to parody.

Taylor Lidstone (Sergeant Cadwallader) and David Bloomfield (Inspector Thomas) do maintain the farcical tone, although only one of the two has an accurate accent.  Lidstone’s is a particularly enjoyable performance.

The set is clever and versatile, but it is a shame the curtained niches were not utilised or even decorated with an aspidistra or two. The set revolves but only for a few brief moments. There is one chair on set which is frequently and awkwardly moved to the edge of the proscenium and back.

The plot of The Unexpected Guest has sufficient twists and red herrings to keep the audience guessing. Pyefinch has augmented the humorous aspects of the script. The show is funny but just not consistently so, with some actors uncertain how to realise the director’s vision.

Anne Blythe-Cooper

Photographer: Megan Kenna