Looking into the future brings marriage and murder to a hilarious pitch.
Herr Winkelkopf (Trevor Marlatt) and Lord Arthur Savile (Michael Twyman) in Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, runs until December 3, 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on November 27, at the Village Playhouse, 2190E Bloor St. W.
Courtesy/David A Fitzpatrick
When you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth and life has always been easy, sometimes gullibility is the price you pay.
This is the unfortunate but hilarious story of one man in the Village Players latest play, 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime,' a comedy adapted by Constance Cox based on a story by Oscar Wilde.
A play that pokes fun at the absurd attitudes and values of the Victorian upper class, this is a timeless story that showcases what can happen when you trust too easily and take a stranger at face value.
In this case, a palm reader, Mr. Podgers (Derek Perks), who Lord Arthur (Michael Twyman) has never met, threatens to destroy his pending nuptials to his fiancée, Cybil (Penny Greer).
If his palm reveals he will love Cybil faithfully the wedding will proceed, but if something unsavoury is found, it will be called off. If you haven't guessed, this reeks of mother-in-law meddling, and in this case, Cybil's ice-queen mother, Lady Julia Merton (Karen Drybrough), set up this unorthodox meeting to "protect" her daughter.
Despite a clean read of a happy and loving marriage in front of Lady Julia, Arthur is no less relieved because the palmist tells him in confidence that he sees him committing murder.
Panicked, the naive Arthur decides he should get the deed done before he weds, so not to embarrass Cybil. So, he and his faithful butler, Baines (David Clegg), begin to plot murder with the help of a German murder enthusiast, Herr Winkelkopf (Trevor Marlatt), and what can only be described as hilarity and madness ensues.
Watching two men decide which one of Arthur's relatives should be sacrificed for his murder sounds gloomy, but Arthur is such a naive and likeable character, you can't help but laugh and feel bad for him.
And when you meet his relatives, aunts Lady Windermere (Catherine Lenihan) and Lady Clementina Beauchamp (Paige Lancaster), whose personality is as colourful as her rouge, and his uncle, The Dean of Paddington (Aaron Marcus), you understand why it may be a hard choice.
While this story seems dark, it's so melodramatic, and ridiculous to think a man would not only fall for the prediction let alone act on it, that it becomes a humourous show of pure fun.
The characters and the actors who portray them are what make this show a success. They are colourful and entertaining as they unknowingly, or knowingly, dodge umbrella bombs and poisoned chocolate.
While the entire show offers up some laughs, some of the best scenes are between the murder-plotting trio Twyman as Arthur, Clegg as Baines and Marlatt as Herr Winkelkopf. The physicality of the comedy, and the farce-like situations they encounter on their quest for murder, means there is never a dull moment.
The ladies of this show are no less impressive. Dressed in beautiful Victorian costumes (Alex Amini) and typically British, you could not help but laugh at them.
Drybrough as Lady Julia will have you loving to loathe her, and Lancaster as Clementina is a character you won't soon forget. The talents of Greer as Cybil, Lenihan as Lady Windermere and Perks as the conniving Podgers, top off this talented cast.
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime runs Wednesday to Saturday until Dec. 3 beginning at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 27, at the Village Playhouse, 2190E Bloor St. W. Tickets are $20 and $16 for students and seniors. For tickets call 416-767-7702 or visit www.villageplayers.net