Two years ago, Michelle Collins and Daniel Casey were among the cast members in Cluedo, a stage adaptation of the popular board game, reimagined as a comedy murder mystery.

Now, to celebrate the famous detective game’s 75th birthday, it’s time for Cluedo 2 – another humorous whodunnit from the same writers Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks.

Credit to the production’s marketing and branding, the Theatre Royal Brighton was almost full on a Wednesday evening for a play that no one really knows much about or what to expect.

The action takes place in the late sixties in a large countryside manor, the usual setting for such a theme. We are slowly introduced to all of the characters we have come to love from the well-known board game; Colonel Mustard is Heartbeat’s Jason Durr, complete with convincing South American accent; Miss Scarlett is Strictly Come Dancing winner and Coronation Street regular Ellie Leach and of course we also have Reverend Green and Professor Plum to name but a few. There are additional new characters brought in to help with the plot such as rock star Rick Black. It’s when he is murdered in his music studio that the play can really get going.

Mark Bell, known mainly for his direction of The Play That Goes Wrong, directs a slick and fast-paced production, even if Act 1 takes a little while to find its feet. There are some strange movement sequences in between scenes from Movement Director Anna Healey which seem a little lengthy and confused but Jon Fiber’s suspenseful sound design helps keep the audience engaged.

Jack Bennett is a delightful Wadsworth, another additional character because, of course, every murder mystery needs a Butler. Hannah Boyce gives a strong and commanding performance as Mrs Peacock and holds the action together nicely throughout. Liam Horrigan multi roles wonderfully through several characters and brings some lovely comic moments to the piece. Dawn Buckland as the cheeky housekeeper Mrs White gives the stand out performance of the night and is hilarious at times, especially during a cleverly written kitchen scene in which a variety of cakes are used to finish sentences.

It’s almost a pantomimic piece with several asides to the audience and breaking of the fourth wall. Not every gag lands though and there were times when the cast seemed to be waiting for applause, only for it not to materialise and the pace to slowly dwindle. The show does get better as it goes along and there are nice twists and turns to keep the audience guessing until the final curtain. The ending is as ridiculous as you’d imagine but it’s a nice pay off and overall a harmless, easy-watching night at the theatre.

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