Dark tale of murder, mystery and intrigue at Mallow Castle
A DARK tale of murder, mystery and intrigue laced with old-fashioned Ealing comedy style slapstick humour will play out in the grounds of Mallow Castle in July.
Downton Abbey will meet Agnatha Christie on the evening of July 27 when Cork County Council hosts ‘Murder On The Terrace’, one of a number of events the authority has planned at the venue over the coming months.
Staged by UK-based Heartbreak Productions and billed as a “unique outdoor theatre experience” the delightful play will invite the audience of amateur sleuths to follow the trail of clues to see if they can decipher who carried out the most foulest of deeds.
The evening will begin under the guise of a respectable garden party to celebrate Lord Cava’s retirement and the handing over of his sparkling wine empire to his nephew Charles.
In typically ‘whodunnit’ style Charles is subsequently found dead at the hands of a mystery poisoner, and the gentile garden party erupts into mayhem. Called to the scene the sardonic Inspector Beck arrives to investigate leading the audience on a journey of improbable twist and turns that will eventually lead them to the murderer.
Part romp, part farce and a whole lot of fun, David Kerby-Kendall’s play features a touring cast of professional actors and has earned rave reviews from audiences and critics across the UK.
Tickets for the 7pm performance, which will run until 9.30pm including a 20-minute interval, are available from the Cork County Council’s offices at Annabella House on 022 21123 priced at a pocket friendly €10.
They can also be booked online at www. heartbreakproductions.ie.
Announcing the initiative the council’s district officer for the Kanturk/Mallow area, Liz Donovan, said it was part of a drive by the authority to make greater use of Mallow Castle as a venue for public events.
“All of the initiatives that we have held thus-far at Mallow Castle have been family, daytime events. By hosting the murder/ mystery evening in the Castle grounds we are trying to attract a different catchment group and broaden the scope of the venue,” said Ms Donovan.
She said the authority has set aside funding of €15,000 from the 2017 Town Development Fund to cover the cost of holding a host of events in the Castle grounds, over the coming months.
These will include the South of Ireland Pipe Band Championships in June, the murder/mystery evening, events under the umbrella of the Mallow Arts Festival in July, a ‘Picnic in the Castle’ family fun day in August, the return of the Halloween ‘spooktacular’ and the annual Christmas Fair in December.