Cluedo

Nearly everyone will be familiar with the old whodunit game, Cluedo. Who committed the murder, in which room, with what implement? This newly written performance plays on those old familiarities, with an aim to drawing the audience into the story and it does a fabulous job of it. They're all here; Professor Plum, Reverend Green, Miss Scarlet and the rest, immediately recognisable with fantastically appropriate costumes. The dashing Inspector Cluedo enters the mix and we're off. The plot centres around the murder of Dr Black at his country mansion and the investigation therein to find the culprit before he strikes again. Luke Horne plays Inspector Cluedo with a centred stillness and grace fitting to the imposing policeman, commanding the group with formidable authority. Kane Power is simply awe-inspiring as the pompous Colonel Mustard and forces all focus onto his outrageous presence as he enters a scene. In fact, the boys of the show far outshine the girls with only the phenomenal Georgie Coles as Mrs White standing out. Her characterisation is perfect and her solo song listing her ex-lovers had the audience at her feet. Coles' voice is by far the best of the group and ensures me that she is a musical theatre starlet in the making. The other girls played their roles well but sometimes fell down with the pre-empting of lines and generally being quite flat in delivery. Miss Scarlet could also do well to note that shouting out songs is not necessarily the same as projecting them. I particularly enjoyed Aaron Bourton's bumbling Professor Plum with his twitching, geeky demeanour being suitably quirky and doing some lovely character singing during his 'Tonic' number.Therein lies the wonder of this show. The songs are simply incredible. All are original and superbly composed with a distinct Kander and Ebb feel about them. The cheeky inclusion of snippets from their 'Chicago' hit, 'Cell Block Tango', may be a nod to their influence and brilliantly apt to the show. The songs are what drives the performance along. They will stir emotions in you that, coupled with the outstanding choreography on stage, will at times leave you as breathless as a West End performance might. The simple staging of blocks with room names adhered to them stops the whole thing becoming clumsy and gives some beautiful levels for the performers to play with.This is a gem of a show. Being originally devised by young adults only makes it more impressive. It might be a little overlong with an evident lull towards the middle but the quick-fire set of twists at the end keeps it up-beat and enjoyable. It's by no means perfect but with time and a little work, it'll get there. It's packed full of intrigue, suspense and hilarity; just like the game from which it takes it's title. If you're looking for a show with some seriously awesome music, slick choreography and a script that just fires them out; don't go to the West End, go here.