Review: MURDER AT ACKERTON MANOR at Fulton Theatre

For some reason, there is a very popular, yet very specific genre of theater that local companies love to produce.  It can best be described as the “multi-role campy comedy mystery show”.  Examples include The Mystery of Irma Vep, Murder for Two, and The Play that Goes Wrong. All of these shows hit the audience over the head with broad, theatrical silliness, with little emphasis on plot or motive. Likewise, the Fulton’s current production of Murder at Ackerton Manor checks all those boxes.

The talented three-member cast (Andrew Kindig, Charlotte Northeast, and Mark Tinkey) portray a total seven different roles with costumes quick changes and wacky voices aplenty.  Kindig, Northeast, and Tinkey are all strong performers and do their best with the limitations of this Agatha Christie styled farce.  At least the actors had very distinct vocalizations and mannerisms for each of their characters. A criticism of similar shows is that after a while, everything just sort of blends together.  Director, Alex Keiper obviously subscribes to the faster, louder, funnier philosophy, but with diminishing returns.

Probably one of the biggest challenges of this production is the venue.  The fourth-floor space is relatively intimate, so this extremely over-the-top style of acting often seems excessive when your audience sits less than five feet away. Ironically, even though I sat in the third row, I missed out on a few of the gags because I couldn’t see over the heads of audience members in front of me.  Sit in the elevated back rows if you want to get tickets.

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