The Unexpected Guest

Unlike the murder – mystery novels, which are part of our folklore, and for which Agatha Christie is famous, The Unexpected Guest was written as a play and was first performed in 1958. Although not as well known as her play The Mousetrap, it still offers an intriguing plot that keeps the audience absorbed to the end. It starts on a foggy night when Michael Starkwebber enters the home of the Warwicks through a window in the study. He finds the dead body Richard Warwick and Richard’s wife holding a gun that supposedly killed him. He believes she is innocent and they concoct a story to blame an enemy of the past, MacGregor, whose son had been run over by Warwick. The mystery to the audience is to determine who actually did the murder and everyone in the household looks guilty at times.

Sharon White has successfully melded the cast to produce the mystery of the murder sufficiently to keep the audience absorbed for the entire performance. Well done. Garry Condoseres brought strength, stability and belief to the key role of Michael Starkwebber. This performance was matched to a large degree by the underplaying of Mrs Laura Warwick by Susie Mitchell. The various members of the household were played by Rebecca Myers, Hazel Mephan, Robert Gettons, Ian Bielenberg and Ashan Kumar so well that I became more involved as the play progressed. Ashan Kumar was excellent in an over the top portrayal of the mentally deficient Jan Warwick. Barry Haworth and Edward Haworth as the police officers were as good as solving the murder as I was.

The simple set, the good direction and inter play of the characters made this a  good production. I thought I had solved the murder but, as with so much of Agatha Christie’s writing, I was mistaken – as you will be when you see it. I do recommend you see it.

William Davies