“On the evening of Sunday, 23 March 1997, the body of Emily Simpson, a gentle, orchid-loving, older lady, was found in her cottage in the idyllic, seemingly sleepy, village of Badger’s Drift in the bucolic county of Midsomer.”
This was the pilot episode of ‘Midsomer Murders’, taken from the novels of author Caroline Graham. The pilot episode was an immediate success and the ‘highest rated single drama of 1997’. The show has been long-running ever since then.
The original series had John Nettles cast as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, the role now played in this production by Daniel Casey. Intriguingly, it is Daniel Casey who now superbly plays his once boss Tom Barnaby, as it was Daniel Casey who was first cast as Sergeant Troy playing Sergeant Troy between 1997 and 2003.
Daniel Casey
Daniel Casey was born in Stockton-on-Tees, so he is local to this area. His father, Luke Casey was a well-known journalist and TV presenter. Daniel Casey studied at Grey College, Durham University, gaining a BA in English Literature before entering acting. He said of his working alongside John Nettles that:
“I spent all those years standing next to him, watching and listening, so hopefully I have absorbed a bit of his magic. It’s a bit daunting, because those are big shoes to fill, but I’m really excited about doing it. I think it is as important not to do an impression, so I will be bringing my own ideas to the role, while honouring John’s original Barnaby’s essential attributes of honesty and integrity.” (Show Programme)
Daniel Casey did just that. There were echoes of John Nettles especially in his interviewing techniques and his obvious ability to really listen. He also gave advice to James Bradwell who now plays Troy when he advised him to:
“Make the character your own and enjoy it. He’s such a lovely character to play and it has been a joy to see James do just that and create a new fantastic Troy.”(ibid)
An ‘idyllic village’
The story was set in an ‘idyllic village’ This could be difficult to achieve in a play on stage, but it was cleverly achieved. The sides of the stage gave the impression of greenery with wispy clouds in a blue sky above. Artificial grass lined the stage. To the righthand side stood a signpost, on the B5289 road between Causton and Ferne Basset. The backdrop, equally green and blue skied, had a large aperture placed in the middle in which houses could be seen in the distance. Hanging baskets of flowers, four on each side of the stage, added to the illusion that this play was indeed set in the countryside.
Suddenly the scene changed. Ominous music set the scene. Something bad was about to happen. The signpost disappeared but the tufted grass around it remained to reveal Miss Emily Simpson indicating her discovery of the orchid with a wooden marker with a red ribbon tied around. As she turned around towards the audience, Emily saw something she should not have seen. What she had seen led to her murder. The mystery began.
Eccentric characters
As usual in ‘Midsomer’ the characters were somewhat eccentric, the most zany being Miss Lucy Bellingringer, donned in a rather large straw hat, magnificently played by Julie Legrand. Although she provided several clues, especially as she had known her friend Emily so well, Miss Bellringer was the complete opposite to the quietly observant Miss Marple. (A comment about Agatha Christie was made later in the play which made the audience laugh), so this ploy must have been deliberate but very well done. Irritatingly for the ambitious Troy, Miss Bellringer first refers to him as Barnaby’s ‘apprentice.’. Julie Legrand plays Miss Bellringer as zany and almost over the top, but it really works.
Rupert Sadler plays Dennis Rainbird, the undertaker. He follows the tradition of the 1997 TV programme as an extremely camp gay young man devoted to his eccentric mother Iris, played by John Dougall. Both actors capture their parts so well. In the TV production Dennis drives an expensive car, not possible on stage. To show their wealth they offer tea in what Barnaby describes as ‘Capodimonte’ teacups, several items of such crockery being placed on Troy’s knees, much to the amusement of the audience. Of course, both Barnaby and Troy refuse the choice of quirky sandwiches arranged on a three-tiered cake stand which they are offered. The question arises of how a young undertaker afforded such luxurious crockery in the place and how they are both so wealthy. It is also speculates whether the tower in their house and a pair of binoculars was involved.
The set
It was interesting how the rest of the village and the ‘tower’ were described. Barnaby and Troy faced the audience and described what they could see across the village in a way that one could imagine such a scene. As the play progressed, images appeared in the window at the back of the stage which added to this illusion.
The set overall was so cleverly created. Chairs, desks, tables would almost magically appear and disappear on and off the stage through some mechanical device, and scenery come down and returned up from above that the scenes could be altered instantly. The lighting would be briefly dimmed during the procedure, so that those moving furniture were hardly seen, giving the illusion of a rapid change of scene. One interview scene between two suspects was particularly expertly managed. One interview was finished,the lights dimmed for a few seconds and the other interviewee was under question on the opposite seat. When finished it appeared that there had been only one person with one side of their body dressed as one subject and the other side as the other and they had merely been turning around and changing their seat in the instant when lights were off. Clever co-ordination.
Intriguingly the players took more than one role each and this worked well, especially with Natalie Barclay who played both the dowdy Judy Lessiter as well as the glamourous Katherine Lacey and Rupert Sadler as the eccentrically camp Dennis Rainbird and Michael Lacey the ill-mannered painter. As usual the characters in Midsomer were somewhat eccentric like the vampish Barbara Lessiter played by Chandrika Chevli even attempting her ‘charms’ to no avail on Barnaby.
Troy’s notoriously bad driving skills were demonstrated well by using chairs and the sound effect of the inside of a moving car, with Troy driving and at one stage having to swerve to avoid a supposed vehicle. The ‘radio’ was switched on, and it was on the ‘radio’ a vital clue was discovered.
The story was tightly adhered to, so Barnaby’s family life was not included as this would have distracted from the plot. The acting by all the cast was impressive but what made this performance stand out was the humour and wit which filtered throughout the performance, encapsulated by Barnaby’s boast that Midsomer had the lowest murder rate in all England.
I am a ‘Midsomer’ fan and I had wondered just how the scene would be set and things like Troy’s driving and the dream sequence, which was done in a surrealist way, could be achieved. It satisfied these questions but as a play it was the clever scenery, the acting and the humour which made this to me, an outstanding performance.
Midsomer Murders plays at Darlington Hippodrome till Saturday 23 May.
