Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
Captivating, enthralling and hilarious were the words we used in the car on the way home after we spent the evening at The Hawth in Crawley, watching Crimes on the Nile.
Written and performed by New Old Friends theatre company, it was billed as a comedy whodunit thriller and I wondered just how that would work on stage. The theatre was absolutely packed and from loud talking the audience dropped to complete silence as the show started in the dark with torches lighting the faces of cruise passengers announcing the murder of one of their fellow passengers. Belgian super-sleuth Artemis Arinae subsequently arrives on stage to set the scene and then follows on with an extremely amusing scene where the clock turns back and everyone walks backwards at speed to before the murder happens.
The stage is set as a 1930’s cruise ship with a large clock set above 3 cabin doors and Artemis Arinae, on holiday to rest the grey cells, arrives to greet the Captain as the first guest to arrive. The following passengers arrive on the ship and you get to learn a little about them. Characters include erotic novel writer Temperance Westmacott, her weird talking grown up son Colossus and German doctor Hans Reichman. Fergus Leathem is the ship’s booze-addled captain alternating with Scottish lawyer Kirk McMiller and American steel magnate Marty Montgomery Jr.
With Artemis narrating the whole time you have the remaining three cast members playing eleven different characters, with super-fast costume and accent changes creating the majority of the laughs the play just romps along. Due to the actors playing several parts there are many times when the actors have to talk to themselves with side splitting results. In one particular scene they run around opening and shutting the three cabin doors whilst undertaking farcical speedy costume changes creating the illusion that there are several people behind the doors. The camel racing scene is another highlight.
When two of the passengers are murdered and one shot in the foot Artemis puts aside her holiday plans and interviews all of the passengers to solve the case.
In the second half of the play the identity of the murderer is revealed. Artemis gathers all the suspects together, so there are times when there are at least ten characters, but only four actors on stage. The result is extremely funny and so fast paced it’s hard to keep up.
We saw this play at The Hawth, Crawley where there is plenty of free parking and comes with excellent facilities including a bar, separate café bar and a full dining restaurant.
Crimes on the Nile is entertaining, high-spirited, witty and above all different from anything we have seen before. The murder plot itself maybe a little hard to follow but who cares, the entertainment factor and the talent of the cast are the stars of the show.
There were hardly any seats left in the performance we watched so hurry get your tickets fast as the show comes highly recommended.
Rating: 5/5
Crimes on the Nile is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit www.newoldfriends.co.uk/crimes-on-the-nile.
For other shows at The Hawth in Crawley visit hawth.co.uk or call the box office on 01293 553636.
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6YZ | 01293 553636
