The Rowdy Thespian Association (RTA) has just wrapped up their production and showing of “Whodunnit.”
“Whodunnit” is a “Glass Onion” style murder mystery with twists at every corner. The play is set during the 1930s. Before the performance started, RTA Director Felicity Rost noted that clues about the murderer would be hidden all around the scene and even in the characters’ mannerisms.
The opening scenes introduce the main characters; Archibald Perkins, the butler; Andreas Capodistiou, the blackmailer; Silas Bazeby, the lawyer and host; Rear Admiral Knatchbull Folliat, the old sea dog; Lady Tremurrain, the dotty aristocrat; Roger Dashwell, a nice Australian man; Lavinia Hargreaves, the sweetheart fiance and Dame Edith Runcible, the eccentric archeologist.
In the first act, all are invited to a dinner party deep in the English countryside. Each character has their own disgraceful secret, which Capodistiou exploits, giving each a motive for his murder.
With clues to “Whodunnit” sprinkled throughout the performance, audience members watched attentively for each character’s deliberate wordplay and actions. Some audience members even brought paper and pens to piece together the clues.
As act one comes to an intermission, the audience is introduced to Inspector Bowden and Sergeant Standish. These two detectives were brought in to solve the mysterious murder of Capodistiou.
In act two, the performance picks up a more humorous tone while the detectives interrogate the suspects. While interrogating, the detectives find a pivotal twist that completely changes the investigation. It is revealed that dinner guests are in fact actors, hired to play out a fake murder mystery that resulted in a real murder.
The true murderer had hired these actors to take on these personas and lead them to what they thought was just a game. The killer used this as the perfect cover-up to get away with what they thought was the perfect murder.
Just when Detective Bowden thinks the host is a murderer, Bazeby is killed by the true murderer. Bazeby found who the real killer was and when he was just about to inform the detectives, he was found dead. This threw off the detectives and the audience but gave crucial clues as to who the true killer was.
The detectives noted that the killer was left-handed and carefully analyzed which guest would fit that description. Bowden used these clues to reveal who the real killer was. The only left-handed suspect was the butler. In a last effort to get away with the perfect murder, the butler tried attacking Bowden with a sword that was being held in his left hand, confirming the fact that he was the true killer.
Overall, the performance was witty and kept the audience members on their toes with every twist and turn. All the actors kept the audience laughing and entertained, and the show was full of life with an amazing script and thoughtful scenery.
Blake Persyn, who portrayed Inspector Bowden, brought a comical absurdity to the play, which the audience thoroughly enjoyed.
Viktor Ӧstberg, who played the butler and actor with a career worth killing for, brought life to the performance with their lively stage presence.
For students interested in theater, the RTA hosts their general meeting on Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Richard Liu Auditorium in the Business Building (BB 2.01.02).
