Group prepare to raise curtain with ‘whodunnit’

LLANELLI’S Phoenix Theatre Group is preparing to raise the curtain on its spring production at Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli.

Following Ibsen’s “The Pillars of the Community” last October, the Group’s next choice is one of the most popular forms of theatre — an Agatha Christie “whodunnit”.

Mrs Christie, the acknowledged Queen of Crime, was once described as the perfect hostess serving hemlock at a cocktail party.

And there will be a heady mix of cocktails in the current choice -“Towards Zero”- when the wily mistress of criminal ceremonies mixes her cocktail with sufficient ingredients to provide good theatre and first-rate fun for the audience.

“The benefit of her stage plays is that they unfold in two hours instead of a whole reading session of four or five hours,” said Phoenix director W Noel Rees, who will be stirring the ingredients of this particular Christie cocktail.

“Towards Zero”, adapted for the stage by Mrs Christie herself and Gerald Verner, is a real puzzle, and is the perfect design for dying.

In “Towards Zero”, the situation is perfectly straightforward. The victim had been hit with terrific force. The first blow smashed in the bone and killed but the attacker struck again, just to make sure.

Phoenix actors always enjoy trying to mislead an audience, and “Towards Zero” involves a lively group of seasoned Phoenix players who will be attempting to fool audiences: Jamie Davies, Lisa Isaac, Fiona Gibbard, Roy Tillman, Stephen McDermid, Elizabeth Bevan, Wynne Seaborne, Jeremy Lewis, Anthony Evans, Andrew Sayers and the Phoenix Group welcomes back Lesley Cooper to the acting ranks.

“Towards Zero” plays for three nights at Y Ffwrnes from Thursday to Saturday, May 16 to 18, nightly at 7.30pm.

Reserved seats are £10 each with concession group rates of 8+ and can be obtained from the Theatre Box Office on 0345 2263510