No. 3 - Costin's Theatre Excursions - Sleuth
Tuesday, November 02, 2010Be afraid, be very afraid!
As Halloween approached, I thought of the people’s fascination with crime, death and suspense and crime and other ghoulish things and it brought to mind the comedy-thriller Sleuth by Anthony Schaffer that was presented by Theatre Collingwood this summer and how much I enjoy that play and why I am a still a fan of comedy thrillers and mystery plays. To the other end of the spectrum one will find Shear Madness, another play I saw this past summer at Stage West Theatre Restaurant, a mystery comedy that started life as a serious psychodrama and became an interactive comedy whodunit. The show evolved, in the presence of an audience, into a raucous comedy that let the audience into the act.Both succeed because, at one point or another in our lives, we have all had a fascination with puzzles, games and riddles and may have even been addicted to playing and pretending. Of course, we also wanted very badly to win, and at times even win at any cost.
Well, in this delightful puzzle of a comedy-thriller, these strong desires and addictions that are deeply buried in all of us, explode to the surface in a surprising, fascinating, entertaining and really suspenseful manner.
There is a common notion that a comedy-thriller is usually set in a stately country manor where, first, a murder takes place and then it's followed by the prerequisite plot twists, cover-ups, likely and unlikely suspects, maybe even more murders and more plausible or implausible plot twists. Well… that is exactly what happens in Sleuth, but with quite a few original and really unexpected twists! It is also important to add that the reason this genre still lives on and entertains is because it keeps the audiences laughing throughout.
We see then that good comedy-thrillers have an almost interactive characteristic about them that is fun, highly amusing and unpredictable, wherein, for example, a moment of terror is immediately relieved by a moment of true hilarity. What attracts some patrons to the genre could be the pleasure of being constantly surprised, while others are drawn by the challenge of deducing what will happen next. Most, however, seek the smug satisfaction of being able to say to their “unsuspecting” companion sitting next to them: "Ha! I told you this would happen!”
It is a given that characters in whodunits are never what they seem and that their secrets and veiled identities envelop the plot with the obligatory shroud of mystery and help pepper it with red herrings. Sleuth still feels like a fresh comedy-thriller not only because the lead characters are two very clever men, but maybe because in the audience, even the sharpest “sleuth” or the most cynical of patrons may find it full of surprises.
Research shows that there are two categories of game players: those who just love to play and those who need to win at all costs. Well, there is no need to guess which category we are most fascinated with, is there? If you are one of those players who are always used to winning and can’t even fathom defeat, well then, be on your guard, watch and learn a lesson, and … be afraid, be very afraid!
0 comments