Anyone expecting a jolly pre-Christmas comedy – look away now – and for goodness sake stay away from the cocktail sausages at the Christmas buffet table! Producers Talking Scarlet return to the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne with a revival of the Terrence Feely thriller, Who Killed Santa Claus?, from 22nd to 26th November.
Barbara Love is a famous TV star who is loved by the thousands of children who watch her each week and universally loathed by those that work with her. The Christmas party for the show she works on is going to be one to remember, for all the wrong reasons. Just before the festivities Barbara is threatened by a chilling voice on her answering machine and then receives a macabre present boxed in a miniature coffin.
As the staff of her television show arrive for the annual Christmas buffet, each one with a motive to murder, this isn’t a Whodunnit but more of a Who’s-going-to-do-it. Could it be the harassed make-up artist, the put upon secretary, the star-struck photographer, the disappointed writer or the disillusioned producer? Only one person at the party at the stylish Chelsea home knows… this Christmas cracker is filled with red-herrings which will keep the tension up until the final spine tingling revelation!
The star cast includes Eastbourne favourites; Kim Tiddy (The Bill, Hollyoaks), Freya Copeland (Emmerdale) and David Callister (The Bill).
Written by Terence Feely whose extensive career spanned five decades and encompasses writing for both stage and screen, he was the creator of the long-running ITV drama series The Gentle Touch (1980 – 1984) and the spin-off C.A.T.S Eyes (1985 – 1987). And wrote television episodes of cult classics including; The Avengers, The Prisoner, The New Avengers and The Return of the Saint. His other stage plays include Murder in Mind and a stage adaptation of The Avengers with Brian Clemens.
Find out Who Killed Santa Claus? at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th November with nightly performances at 7.45pm and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets, from £15.50, can be booked through the box office on 01323 412000 or online www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk. Christmas jumpers welcomed but not essential.
Younger readers are advised that Santa Claus is actually safe and well.