"Spider's Web"

August 13, 2019 — I love an Agatha Christie mystery. The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire has produced many of them over the years. A murder mystery-comedy, "Spider's Web" uses some standard Christie plotting, a murder, suspicion falling on several people, a visit from an inspector, and an entire final act sorting through lies, contradictions, evasions and red herrings, slowly zeroing in on the truth, always something you never saw coming.

Henry Hailsham-Brown (Jordan Reeves), a foreign office diplomat, and his second wife, Clarissa (Madeleine Maby, always superb), reside in a large house they were attracted to by cheap rent. Living with them is Henry's teen-age daughter, Pippa, to whom Clarissa is now step-mother. Also rooming in the house are Sir Rowland Delahaye (Barnstormers veteran Robert Bates), Hugo Birch (Blair Hundertmark) and Jeremy Warrender (Buddy Haardt). Another resident is Mildred Peake (another Barnstormers veteran, Penny Purcell), the gardener.

The story is complicated. You have to cling to every word of dialog, secret desk drawer, mysterious envelope, door behind a bookcase and missing playing card to follow it. Even something as innocent-sounding as the name Brown is important.

When Oliver Costello (John Long), the husband of Henry's first wife and mother of Pippa, pays an unexpected visit and is caught by Clarissa rummaging through desk drawers, angry words fly and Costello informs Clarissa his wife wants Pippa back. Clarissa orders him out of the house, but he returns in the dark of night and is in the process of searching the desk again when a hand with a club reaches from an opening behind the bookcase and bashes him over the head. He falls behind a sofa where Clarissa later discovers his body.

Pippa tearfully tells Clarissa she's responsible for killing Costello, whom she despised and feared. To protect her, Clarissa convinces the three male boarders to dispose of the body. They get as far as moving the body behind the bookcase when Inspector Lord (Robert St. Laurence) knocks on the door, accompanied by Constable Jones (William R. Johnston). They had received a call that a murder had been committed in the house, but from whom?

When the body is eventually discovered, Clarissa is forced to concoct a story too bizarre for the police to believe. And do any of us believe Pippa really murdered Costello? I should mention that through all this, Clarissa's husband Henry is away and unaware of any of these events.

Also appearing was Hank Offinger as the butler. This was one of the best-acted and directed plays at the Barnstormers in the past two seasons in my humble opinion. Clayton Phillips directed this production. Emily Nichols was responsible for the beautiful drawing room in which the entire play takes place.