Sidmouth Amateur Dramatic Society delighted audiences at the Manor Pavilion Theatre with the comedy Murdered to Death by Peter Gordon, skilfully directed by Nick Lawrence.

The fun started immediately with an amusing 'front of house' announcement and the curtains opened to a well-furnished set depicting the comfortable drawing-room of a 1930s country house, setting the scene perfectly for the action to follow in typical Agatha Christie style, with 'red herrings' a-plenty!

Mildred, the matriarch of the house, is awaiting the arrival of guests for the weekend, attended by Bunting, her bumbling butler, and her companion Dorothy, who is always at her beck and call.

Crusty Colonel Craddock and wife Margaret arrive, followed by the patronising Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington and smooth Frenchman Pierre Marceau, who hopes to persuade Mildred to invest in some more artwork – but is everyone really who they appear to be?

Into the mix comes Miss Maple, the congenial spinster neighbour, who inveigles herself an invitation to dinner and in true Christie fashion manages to thicken the plot!

Mildred is quickly 'dispatched' early in the proceedings, and her murder sees the arrival of Inspector Pratt, a temporary promotion, and his sidekick PC Thompkins, and what a duo they were!

Pratt, very well played by Ian Harbour, certainly lived up to his name and was effectively supported metaphorically and physically by a stalwart Mark Rose as Thompkins.

Steve Vernon was excellent as Craddock, always with his eye for a pretty 'gal', and Christine Horth made a suitable foil as Margaret who certainly turned the tables at the end!

As Bunting Steve Yarnall had the audience in stitches from the start, Katrina Horth was a strong and determined Dorothy, and Chris Shepherd as Mildred made the most of her scenes before her demise!

John Nelson and Sarah Burston revealed their true characters as they switched from French entrepreneur and Cheltenham Ladies’ Gal, to wide-boy con-artist and his moll, and Jill Coley was simply on top form as Miss Maple.

Scene changes were smoothly managed with some excellent lighting effects from Leigh Steedman and Nathan Wakefield. What a treat it was!