MYSTERY KEEPS CROWD GUESSING.Byline: Victoria Giraud Special to the Daily News The Conejo Players present a jolly good British murder mystery in ``The Business of Murder,'' in which the audience is deliberately deceived - led down the garden path, so to speak - trying to discover what is real and what is fiction. The three excellent actors - John McKenna John McKenna (1855 – March 1936) was an Irish self-made businessman and former rugby player, who was the first manager of Liverpool. He was a friend of John Houlding and remained with him after Everton left Anfield for Goodison Park. as Detective Superintendent Hallet, Anthony Silk as Stone and Bailey Spencer-Jackson as Dee - reveal little as the mystery twists this way and that until it reaches its surprising conclusion. As the play opens, we see the mild-mannered Stone talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Hallet about Clive, his drug-pushing son. Stone wants to help his frightened fright·en v. fright·ened, fright·en·ing, fright·ens v.tr. 1. To fill with fear; alarm. 2. son extricate himself from the violent drug world. A meeting had been arranged for Hallet to meet Clive, but he has disappeared. A short time later Clive calls to apologize, and Hallet agrees to return for a later meeting. When Hallet leaves, we are surprised to see Stone transformed. He opens what we assume is his son's footlocker, confidently dons rubber gloves rubber gloves rubber npl → gants mpl en caoutchouc , then empties Hallet's cigarette butts into a plastic bag and puts a large carving knife into another plastic bag. He puts these items, as well as some clothes, into a small carrying case. The plot thickens. Dee, a famous TV mystery playwright, soon arrives to meet Stone's wife, Helen. Gradually we learn that Helen, an aspiring writer who had submitted a TV script to Dee, is dying of cancer; her painkilling drugs are keeping her in the bedroom while Stone must entertain the playwright. Hallet appears for his evening meeting with Stone and is uncomfortably surprised to find that Stone has stepped out and Hallet's lover, Dee, is ensconced en·sconce tr.v. en·sconced, en·sconc·ing, en·sconc·es 1. To settle (oneself) securely or comfortably: She ensconced herself in an armchair. 2. on the couch On the Couch is an Australian television program formally broadcast on the Fox Footy Channel and it focuses on the current issues in the AFL. This is now broadcast on Fox Sports after the closure of Fox Footy Channel. The show airs on Monday night and is hosted by Gerard Healy. . When they compare notes, the two discover that Stone has been telling different accounts of his life. Checking the bedroom for the ailing wife, they find a balloon and crumpled crum·ple v. crum·pled, crum·pling, crum·ples v.tr. 1. To crush together or press into wrinkles; rumple. 2. To cause to collapse. v.intr. 1. clothes to simulate a body. What is going on? Stone soon returns as a revengeful, master manipulator, and the exciting climax unfolds as the characters confront each other with confession and denial. Will Hallet, the arrogant detective who finds himself caught in personal betrayals, lose out? Is Dee guilty of creating her success from another's tragedy? Who's been murdered by whom? You'll have to see the play to find out. The facts What: ``The Business of Murder'' by Richard Harris When: 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Feb. 21 Where: Conejo Players, 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Cost: $5 Information: (805) 495-3715 |
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