In the play by David Macgillivray and Walter Zerlin, the ladies of The Farndale Avenue Dramatic Society (F.A.H.E.T.G.D.S.) are a force to be reckoned with. Their next production is “Murder at Checkmate Manor”, despite the fact that it has 14 parts and there are only four of them to play them. Even though stage manager Gordon nobly agrees to appear, their production is blighted by disasters. Scenery falls down, sound effects go wrong, cues are missed and those quick changes are just too slow. Through this adversity the ladies soldier on, determined to provide a good evening out for their audience, but reveal more about the relationships between themselves than the plot
Their play is set in the drawing room of Checkmate Manor. The family gathers for the reading of the will of the late Sir Reginald Bishop. However, someone else has designs on the Checkmate millions, and will stop at nothing to get them. A string of grisly murders ensues, where everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect in a classic whodunit farce. The crunch comes in the final denouement when the murderer is about to be revealed. Luckily Mrs Reece (Hazel Hancock), the senior member of the group, can be relied on to save the day with a final twist to the plot
We have a DVD, from David Laine’s original video
David Laine remembers a painted fireplace mounted in such a way that it could fall down on cue. Also that he and some others entertained the audience during the interval with jokes, and a daft bingo game where everyone shouted “house” at the same time
