Getting a Clue a good laugh in these fraught times

They question the butler Wadsworth.

Something everyone could use in 2020 is a clue on what the future holds. Clue, the play by the Dannevirke Theatre Company might not provide this, but it will definitely distract people from worrying about the future as they sit, entranced, trying to keep up with the fast cast to work out whodunit.

Clue continues to echo the year 2020 when the play opens with flashes of thunder and lightning, and the ominous creek of the opening door as the butler, the housemaid, and the cook take the stage.

Trying to find out what's going on.

'I can see from the looks on your faces you haven't a clue,' Wadsworth the butler addresses the audience. And the cast of the Dannevirke Theatre Co add to the general glorious confusion with their hilarious use of foreign accents and throwing out red herrings to flummox the less mentally well-endowed.

The props are great supporting details and the placement of key items is as clever as the cast, a credit to the director Gerard McKay, as it ensures complete audience participation and perfectly timing which ensures you will be kept busy guessing right until the end.

The audience is further drawn into the web woven as each of the players' reasons for being blackmailed is revealed. Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mr Green, Mrs Peacock, Colonel Mustard, and Mrs White remain true to the board game on which the play is based.

And as an added bonus, stay tuned for a cameo appearance by your usual local roving reporter - getting the scoop as is usual!

Most importantly, the cast do have a clue – more than! – on how to entertain. The actors are a tight, practised team, blessed with great comic timing, and provide the audience with a rollicking ride. A genuine laugh is necessary in times like these - after all, didn't Nero fiddle while Rome burned?

For tickets please see Donna at the Dannevirke Information Centre on the corner of High and McPhee Sts, or phone 06 374 4167 9.30-12.30, 1.30-5 Monday-Friday.

The season continues at 7.30pm November 25-27 and concluding with two shows on November 28, 2pm and 7.30pm.