This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour saw Cluedo 2 at the invite of The Alexandra.
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
Review: Cluedo 2 at The Alexandra
“A daft chaotic production.”
Directed by Mark Bell, written by Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks
Arriving at the home of Mr Black (Liam Horrigan) and Mrs Peacock (Kara Alberts-Turner), a series of guests are drawn into a farcical murder mystery set in the 1960s.
Disconnected from Cluedo (aka Clue – the Film on stage) this production has a fresh chance to reconfigure the characters and relationships with increasingly daft reveals and twists. The buildup is fairly convoluted as it fleshes out its world and everyone is here for the murders and group reactions. This is where the comedy moments are and the strength of the characters.
I’m someone who adores Clue and the game of Cluedo itself can really be brought to the stage however it likes as we don’t get a real backstory from the game, which was created by Anthony E. Pratt, a Brummie and apparently based on a house in South Birmingham.
Both Jason Durr playing Colonel Mustard and Gabriel Paul playing Reverend Green are lumbered with challenging accents throughout, with the sole reason of making language comments on differences between Cluedo and Clue (The USA and the UK). This cast is at its best when they are together and there are some creepy moments.
The set is simple and serves to remind everyone this is a board game, with the board at the back highlighting which room they are in. There are some fun props to recreate rooms. The costumes have a real 60s vibe to them.
I would have liked to have seen more chaos and less plot exposition in this story which has some pretty niche references in it.. Cluedo at the end of the day is a family board game about a murder mystery. So I was expecting to see more people with older kids in the audience and there are plenty of £20 tickets still available.
A daft chaotic production, Cluedo 2 is at The Alexandra until 27th July 2024. Book tickets here: atgtickets.com/shows/cluedo-2-the-next-chapter/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham.
