Children's thriller has a French connection (From Gazette Series)

Review: The French Detective and the Blue Dog, the egg theatre, Bath

12:21pm Wednesday 21st December 2011 in What's On By Jayne Bennett

CHRISTMAS wouldn’t be Christmas for my family without an extra special story from Bristol playwright Hattie Naylor.

In the past, we have enjoyed Alice re-worked for the egg, and last year The Nutcracker also took to the main stage. But this year the wonderful egg theatre in Bath has taken on the challenge of something entirely different… the world premiere of Hattie’s murder mystery for all the family, ‘The French Detective and the Blue Dog’.

As always, Hattie takes us on a magical journey; but don’t expect too much sugar and spice with this trip to the circus. The theatre has been transformed into a small Belgian village sometime just before the Second World War using minimal but very effective props and three doorways, so that the production can be performed ‘in the round’.

The main thrust of the story is that, whilst on holiday, a bumbling French detective (think Inspector Clouseau) and his young companion, Minette, stumble upon a murder. We then meet various members of a circus troupe, who are banned from performing following the mysterious disappearance of their young escapologist - something for which they are all blamed. None of the performers shows any aptitude for their chosen professions in the outside world, and as the body count rises, so do the clues.

This family show is at times very funny but also has a dark side, and so cannot be considered a ‘safe’ choice for very young theatre goers - but it makes a welcome change from the glittery nonsense of pantomime, and those who chose to look away for the fight scenes soon looked back for the funny little dog and to discover ‘whodunnit’.

Performances from the cast of just five performers are nothing short of outstanding. John Biddle, Paul Mundell and Jessica Pidsley each play several roles, with John Biddle particularly hilarious as Madame Cluminger-Spaniel. Chris Bianchi is very strong as Inspector Charcuterie, and the highest accolade of all must go to Flossie Ure, who is one of three young actresses to take on the role of Minette during this run - an exceptional talent who is sure to go on to great things in the future. Add to this the atmospheric music from Isabel Cressey on accordion and Ron Phelan on Double Bass and you know you are watching something very special.

The French Detective and the Blue Dog runs until January 8. Contact the box office on 01225 823409 or 01225 448844 or visit www.theatreroyal.org.uk.