Review: ACCUSED! at The Stage Guild

Ordinarily, I'd be adverse to watching the third installment of a trilogy when I haven't seen the first two, but I thoroughly enjoyed Patricia Milton's "Accused!" the concluding production of a trio of plays focused on the "Victorian Ladies' Detective Collective" at the Washington Stage Guild. Viewers who have seen the first two parts may have more of a connection with the characters, but I found "Accused!" quite accessible as a newcomer.

In London of the early 1880s, the intrepid, wonderfully-named Loveday Fortescue (Jen Furlong) and feisty American expatriate Katie Smalls (Maddie Baylor) are amateur detectives residing at a lodging house run by the  world-weary Valeria Hunter (Laura Giannarelli) who also joins their adventures, albeit less enthusiastically. Their latest case begins when Allison Tinglepenny (Ta'Neesha Murphy) a past client, is murdered, and the city is rocked by a spate of bombings, including of the politically progressive printer where Allison worked. (London at the time was in fact hit by a spate of terror bombings, principally conducted by radical Irish Republican groups.)  Murphy also chillingly plays Mary Perkins, a Scotland Yard Special Branch investigator and rival to the collective. As the detectives probe the case, while concealing pertinent details from Murphy, they begin to suspect that the government may actually be playing a role in the bombings as a means of generating public support for increasing police powers and scapegoating immigrants. (As Milton writes in her program note, this has some basis in historical fact.)  

I have not yet mentioned the only male cast member, Steven Carpenter, who plays three roles: Lord Phillip Ian Albert, an aristocrat and politician who initially appears asking Valeria to sponsor his membership in the garden club and may have some  involvement in the murder and bombings; Deacon Morris Manley, a decidedly un-Godly priest with some hilarious lines, and Henri Blancmange, a French immigrant and neighbor to the collective. Carpenter's transformation between the three roles, aided by Costume Designer Cody Von Ruden, is truly remarkable.

Director Morgan Duncan draws good performances from his cast. The detectives have a believable and engaging group dynamic, supporting but also sniping at each other. The set design, by Megan Holden, is impressively detailed, further drawing the audience into the play's world. 

"Accused!" will appeal to mystery buffs and casual fans alike. It is funny, absorbing, and has more than a few parallels to the contemporary political scene.  The production runs just over two hours with an intermission.