Lichfield Garrick is to stage an “anti-panto”, Crimes Against Christmas – a comedy thriller for adults.
The plot is loosely based around Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, with an apparently random group of people mysteriously invited to a Christmas party on a remote island.
Once on the island, the guests start to die in suspiciously Christmassy ways: pipers while piping, lords while leaping, maids while milking.
Crimes Against Christmas features a host of characters brought to life by four actors, “sweeping the audience along with a fast-based narrative and enough hints (and red herrings) to have them wondering just who the villain is to the very end”.
The Garrick has teamed up with comedy company New Old Friends for the show. Garrick artistic director Tim Ford said, “we love their work and ethos, and feel the partnership is a perfect complement to the work we’re trying to develop and create here in Lichfield.”
One of the cast, Jonny McClean, said, “having been a part of Tim Ford’s youth theatre a number of years ago, I think it’s very enjoyable to get the chance to use those skills and flex them in a professional setting.”
Crimes Against Christmas also features Bristol-based Dan Winter who acted in the New Old Friends adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s The Falcon’s Malteser on two national tours and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015.
He said, “the array of characters and great dialogue in Crimes Against Christmas, along with the fantastically positive ethos the company has is such a pull for any performer.”
Craig Sanders directs. His adaptation of Kafka’s The Trial sold out at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester and Summerhall in Edinburgh in 2016, winning awards for best adaptation and best newcomer.
He said, “Crimes Against Christmas is for adults only which opens up some brilliant opportunities to be wickedly funny, mildly cheeky and for gloriously unsuspecting tomfoolery.”
Crimes Against Christmas runs in the Garrick’s Studio from Friday 9 until Sunday 31 December.