Cluedo, at Comedy Theatre and touring - 90 minutes, without interval

It is 1949 and on a dark and stormy night they have gathered at Boddy Manor in New England.

They are being blackmailed, so each has a motive to commit murder.

Their mysterious blackmailer, Mr Boddy (Joshua Monaghan), who will reveal himself, has orchestrated it so that once inside they cannot leave.

Photos by Jeff Busby

All guests are given pseudonyms.

There is Mrs White (Rachael Beck), Reverend Green (Laurence Boxhall) and Miss Scarlett (Olivia Deeble).

So too Professor Plum (David James), Mrs Peacock (Genevieve Lemon) and Colonel Mustard (Adam Murphy).

Each has access to a murder weapon – a candlestick, a dagger, a gun, a lead pipe, a rope and a spanner. 

The common thread to their true selves seems to lie in the houses of the British parliament.

They are being attended to by a maid with a faux French accent, Yvette (Lib Campbell) and the cook (Octavia Barron-Martin).

Ensuring they stay the course is the butler, Wadsworth (Grant Piro).

But what does that really tell us and why are people being knocked off?

Once the knives are out, figuratively … and literally, the police are called – or are they?

Mayhem ensures.

The whodunnit Cluedo is the work of writer Sandy Rustin, with additional material from Hunter Foster and Eric Price.

Inspired by the Hasbro board game, it is based on the 1985 Paramount Pictures movie. 

Unfolding at pace, with everyone under suspicion, the zany play features a surfeit of puns and dad jokes. 

Sound and lighting effects, music, dance and choreography elevate the spectacle.

Each of the 11 cast members, which also includes Nat Jobe as a bobby, is mighty slick in their delivery, as they play their parts with aplomb.

Exaggerated expressions are par for the course. 

Pomposity and fear are the bywords put to good use.

My personal favourite was Grant Piro, who at one point, a fair way into the production, single handedly recounts all that has taken place in double quick time.

To much mirth, he fills all the roles magnificently.

Another highlight comes near the end, when each of the suspects casts the finger of blame on another and time and again we rewind the action.

Also very clever is the staging. Panels slide in and out to reveal the various rooms where the action takes place.

The foyer serves as the transitional space through to other areas, including the dining room, study, library, billiard room and kitchen.

That is not to overlook secret passages.

The costuming is evocative – bold and colourful. 

So, if slapstick comedy is your bent, Cluedo – well directed by Luke Joslin – fits the bills uproariously.

It is on at the Comedy Theatre until 15^th March.

It then moves to Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide from 21^st March to 4^th April and finally to Theatre Royal in Sydney from 11^th April until 10^th May, 2026.