Richmond Theatre, London.
30 October 2025.
Giggling your way through a tight web of untruths, red herrings and grotesque murders is the name of the game tonight, in this excellently presented classic whodunnit, Caroline Graham’s Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger’s Drift, at the beautiful and traditional Richmond Theatre.
A quintessentially English countryside set, complete with flowering hanging baskets suspended from each pillar/wing mid-height around the stage; a perfectly innocent village scene set for a murder – or murders, as we are about to discover.
Suspenseful music accompanies the opening scene where Emily Simpson discovers the rare flowering of the orchid in the woods in Badger’s Drift and marks the spot with a ribbon. She unintentionally also witnesses another scene and this leads her to her unfortunate death which is raised as suspicious by her lifelong friend Miss Lucy Bellringer – played by Julie Legrand – and so the tangled mystery begins to play out.
Humour must be mentioned time and again as it formed the framework upon which this mystery – originally a book series, and then a critically acclaimed television favourite – hung. From hysterically inappropriate moments such as the slimy undertaker Dennis (Rupert Sadler) stroking the deceased’s ankle in the morgue, to the ghastly ugly-sister-style cackles between Dennis and his ‘birdwatching’ mother Iris (John Dougall), the awkward confessions of Doctor Lessiter, and the sharp banter between him and his unlikely wife Barbara (Chandrika Chevli), we were continually delivered far deeper than necessary juicy details, drawing us in deeper.
At the back of the stage was a large porthole through which we could see an overview of the village of Badger’s Drift – compiled of just two roads; Church Lane and The Street! The porthole was used to excellent effect and later in the play transported us to the funeral service without the need to alter the main set. We saw the village mourners – and therefore the murder suspects – paying their respects, while DCI Tom Barnaby, played by Daniel Casey, central on the main stage reeled off their names and their alibis.
In fact, the classic, detailed scenery – designed by David Woodhead – and in particular the way it was used in smooth and swift multiple scene changes, formed a large part of this evening’s success. Lampposts, walls and kitchen units flew in from the flies, and other sets glided on from the wings via simple pulley systems. It worked, and it was used a number of times to embellish the comedy; the Samaritan’s counsellor was seated on an easy chair, and her ‘set’ began to intentionally glide off stage before her scene was finished. Later, whilst on a phone call to DCI Barnaby, she and her chair almost exited into the wings before she had finished speaking, and she leant back onto the stage to bid him goodbye. Brilliant comic timing.
A number of actors in this small team doubled and tripled up in roles. A prudent decision, as their additional characters appeared in different scenes, but above and beyond what the text could provide, this doubling up created hilarious situations, possibly most memorably, the interviewing of Dickie Whitely at the police station. Dickie sat sideways on a chair looking up at the Inspector; cue brief blackout and lights up again on Barbara Lessiter sitting on the same chair but facing the other way. This impossibly fast changeover was repeated a couple of times, until it became clear that the one actress, Chandrika Chevli, playing both roles, was dressed as both characters, half each on either side of her. A fabulous scene.
Miss Bellringer – a ‘girl-guide taking the bull by its horns’ type of character – was gifted some superb lines that tickled the audience’s humour throughout. “May I ask why you are in mufti?” she demanded of Inspector Barnaby who stood before her in a suit. She also referred to Detective Sargeant Troy (James Bradwell) as the Inspector’s ‘assistant’ – a recurring theme which kept the audience chuckling at the Sargeant’s compressed yet furious response.
Miss Bellringer also brought the personality of the deceased Emily Simpson alive on stage through her vivid descriptions. Having known her friend for 80 years, she was adamant she knew what Emily would and wouldn’t have done and it was easy to imagine the two friends living side by side in happier days, thick as thieves!
The multiple murders and the satisfying completion of the Inspector’s work evolved comfortably and believably, and the last scene was sweetly poignant with Miss Bellringer setting up an afternoon tea for herself and the absent Emily, on her patio set. The opera played on the radio, and she took a seat declaring good friendship was all she needed, as she and her patio set glided off stage into the shadows.
The cast received a very enthusiastic applause, and the auditorium was alive with positivity as the audience exited.
By Louise Ryrie of Dance Informa.
