Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Tom Burroughs, John Doull, Gary Cain, Will Matthews.
Just who are the greatest ever fictional detectives? Or perhaps rather, who are the greatest detectives who could give the criminal element a run for their money when it comes to the game. In The Unthinkable Mystery of The Indigo Star, written by Ed Bixter and directed by Suzy Walker, the game is, as Sherlock Holmes said, “a foot”.
Three men on a train out of Paris; all asked by their Government to investigate the death of Sherlock Holmes and the disappearance of the world famous Indigo Star jewel, surely only Hercule Poirot, Inspector Maigret and Chief Inspector Clouseau can crack the case?
Three very different men, each with an agenda of making sure that the killer doesn’t get away with the murder but also discovering the similarities in their lives, especially when it comes to the investigations into missing priceless jewels. Ed Bixter catches this piece of information so well that too many it will come as a surprise and the way the thought process plays out he must be congratulated for some really great lines.
John Doull and Tom Burroughs capture the idea of Maigret and Poirot very well, the small idiosyncrasies that made these two detectives amongst the favourites of the last century, both in literature and on television, were well observed. The assured pomposity of Poirot, the unabashed self-importance that was wonderfully framed by perhaps the greatest of 20th Century crime writers Agatha Christie, floated around the stage in such a state of poised acceptance that even the sometimes insufferable way that Poirot caught his criminals was swept under the carpet by Tom Burroughs performance as he made him seem more human and less awkward.
The Unthinkable Mystery of The Indigo Star might not quite hit the high marks of what an audience might expect from a play, however the notion of what to expect when in the company of three great fictional detectives who each are hiding deep secrets and hidden desires was inspired, it just needs that something extra in which to keep up the idea of great innovative comedy-drama going through the two hours without resorting to moments of anticipated mayhem.
Ian D. Hall