The Centenary Theatre Group presents Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall

Chelmer Community Theatre

May 9th-31st, 2026

Dr Gemma Regan

Photo credit William McCreery-Rye

A flawless cliché-ridden murder mystery filled with chaos!

Director William McCreery-Rye is a passionate devotee to the English farce and especially the concept of a play-within-a-play. The smash-hit Olivier and Tony Award-winning, The Play That Goes Wrong, the longest-running comedy in London, is high on his bucket list and sure to be a future CTG production.

In the meantime, Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall, written by Sydney Ensemble players Mark Kilmurry and Jamie Oxenbould, ticks all the boxes, focusing on the limitations of community theatre and the need for amateur actors to adapt to any situation. Something the Centenary Theatre Group excels at!

Many of the Middling Cove Players have been struck down with a bug, and only three of the players are left to play the multitude of roles in a whodunnit. The great adage that The Show Must Go On applies, as there are threats to repurpose their beloved theatre. With members of the council and the audience attending in a few hours, planning is fraught as everyone must now play multiple roles. Even Richard (Paul Toolis), an unwitting member of the audience, is dragged onto the stage against his will.

The second act is purposefully much funnier than the first, while the actors all plan who will play which character in front of the curtain. This risky gamble doesn’t quite pay off, with a long first-half, as it seems they will never get to the interesting bit! The big reveal in the second act is the quintessential manor house sitting room with multiple doors and a big window, ripe for the farce within a farce to ensue.

The three Middling Cove Players are under the direction of a stressed Shane, played mostly as the straight man, by Kiwi Jonathan Knox. He is the axel around which the frenzied actors pivot, playing mostly one character in the whodunnit play and giving some stability to the mayhem.

Toolis is convincing as an unwitting actor, having been dragged from the audience in the first-half he blossoms with each scene, setting up some excellent one-liners.  

Jill Brocklebank, as Philippa Chidley, plays many characters, who, without the change of outfits, can be difficult to discern. Especially as she also has to drop in and out of the character of Philippa, the amateur actor. She does a good job of holding it all together amidst the mayhem, not missing any of the confusing lines and interacting well as each of her characters.

Aunty Karen (Ashleigh Tibbs) is well cast as the reluctant girl on parole doing her community service behind the scenes. She seems quiet until she is also recruited to play multiple characters, particularly excelling as the Russian mystic.

The difficult role of the diva Barney Simpson, clad in a Playboy, red silk robe and leopard skin shorts, is carried by Isaac Gibbs, who is outstanding. He has five roles in the whodunnit play in addition to the diva role and is masterful in all, delivering the majority of the physical comedy as he scrabbles to change outfits and roles on stage. How he keeps track of each one is incredible, as he is often playing multiple roles simultaneously, using a wig or a coat and a change of accent to denote a character change.

This well-constructed chaos is bread and butter for director McCreery-Rye. Each character swans in and out of doors as if in a Busby Berkeley routine. There are some hilarious, well-executed incidents, all accentuated by the actors' skills. A nod must also go to Stage Managers Hugo Foong and India Charlton, who artfully manage the structured chaos backstage.

The Centenary Theatre Group, with William McCreery-Rye at the helm, have delivered another flawless cliché-ridden murder mystery, rampant with farcical situations and replete with fake English accents.