Review: Will Cluedo 2 make a killing at Milton Keynes Theatre?

I was certainly a fan of the first instalment when it arrived in MK nearly two years ago, describing it as "a killer production”, but what about Cluedo 2 which opened last night (Tuesday) and runs until Saturday.

Your favourite characters take to the stage once again, with the impressive backdrop of a huge Cluedo board. And we’re transported to familiar rooms from the board game with the help of imaginative set changes.

Based in the swinging 60s, rock star Rick Black (Henry Lawes) and his wife Celestine Peacock (Hannah Boyce) live in a country mansion. And for a variety of reasons all the usual suspects, Miss Scarlett (Ellie Leach), Colonel Mustard (Jason Durr), Mrs White (Dawn Buckland), Professor Plum (Edward Howells), and Rev Green (Gabriel Paul) join them at the property, along with actor/butler Wadsworth (Jack Bennett).

The tongue-in-cheek warning from Rick from the outset is “no-one gets out of here alive” as he prepares to reveal his new “killer” track to those assembled that he hopes will rake in the cash.

Act One sets up the inevitable slaughter to come as grudges are gradually revealed and motives for potential trouble are introduced.

We’ve Mrs White given an excuse for blackmail after finding evidence of Mrs Peacock and Professor Plum having an affair.

And another example is Colonel Mustard, Rick’s manager (with an annoying and, at times, hard to understand American accent). He’s furious when the singer reveals he’s arranged the filming of a gin commercial off his own back, as all business deals should be run by the Colonel first.

The show makes good use of the traditional Cluedo weapons, with one death scene involving a dagger, rope, gun, AND a spanner… prompting the hilarious comment “so it’s not suicide then?” from one amateur sleuth.

There are some really clever jokes in the show, but some felt a bit predictable and flat, particularly in Act One which was a little ponderous to my mind.

Nevertheless the pace quickened in part two and it was worth the wait as the chaos and humour was upped to almost Fawlty Towers levels of farce at times.

There was a brilliantly ridiculous scene where the characters were trying to cover up a death by making use of Wadsworth’s limited ventriloquism abilities.

Then a body was shoved up the fireplace to hide it from the cops. The legs fall down back into view but this is dismissed as being an elaborate Santa Claus Christmas decoration put up two months early!

There were several stand-out performances on the night. First mention must go to Jack Bennett’s Wadsworth who spends the entire show trying to convince everyone he’s not actually a butler – just an actor who seems to be typecast as one. He really was on form and involved in many of the funniest moments.

Dawn Buckland’s Mrs White was also impressive as she proved to be a rather bossy cook/housekeeper – watch out for her key role in one of the best scenes involving her finishing off countless sentences with cake names.

Hannah Boyce was a very classy Mrs Peacock, although her posh English accent suddenly falls by the wayside quite fabulously later on in proceedings.

Cluedo 2 kept the audience guessing right up to the end with plot twists aplenty as the secrets were unravelled.

Book your tickets at ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes