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A Stab in the Dark is an original play written by Alex Vickery-Howe. The first production was performed in Adelaide, South Australia, in February - March 2008 and directed by Toni Main.<ref> Louise Nunn, 2008, "Twist the Night Away The Advertiser 03 02 2008 </ref>

Cast

RANDAL DEVLIN SCOUT Adam Willson

MYLES FLETCHER Andrew Crupi

ELEANOR GRUBB Bridget Walters

ISABELLA VIRTUE Tanya Kaploon

JADE SLOAN Katherine Warner

WALTER CROWLEY Martin Hissey

LACEY CROWLEY Maya Aleksandra

SHEILA HUNT Stephanie Pinnock

MAVERICK HORNE Alec Hall

HELMET KINDERLAND James Aubrey

Plot

A Stab in the Dark begins with the arrival of MYLES FLETCHER and RANDAL DEVLIN SCOUT to the remote island home of their adopted father HELMET KINDERLAND. Snivelling, stuttering FLETCHER is in stark contrast to the confident and charismatic SCOUT. The two swap stories about the times shared together in KINDERLAND’s custody before they are joined by ELEANOR GRUBB, the caretaker, who is a few dice short of a board game. FLETCHER agonizes over the dire weather warnings as SCOUT gets the alcohol flowing and GRUBB wonders who these two strange people are (despite having been their nanny throughout their earlier years).
The reunion party moves up a notch when ISABELLA VIRTUE, FLETCHER’s old flame, swans in. FLETCHER and VIRTUE’s steamy past gets the intrigue rolling. Their brief but passionate encounter hangs over proceedings, with FLETCHER growing more flustered by the minute.
WALTER CROWELY and his butch wife SHEILA HUNT thunder through the door mid-argument and the party moves up another notch. Adorable twin sister LACEY CROWELY trots in behind them, the very picture of delicacy and civility. She attempts to steer the reunion back on course. But, of course, it’s far too late for that.
Finally, JADE SLOAN, twisted and spiteful, enters to expose the bitter secrets of the feuding guests and pilot MAVERICK HORNE tries to grope anyone within groping distance.
The cast of wicked and varied characters is assembled, and – just when everyone appears to be getting along – KINDERLAND’s bloody corpse slips out from behind the curtains!
Trapped together on the island, with a wild storm raging outside, the guests have no choice but to reconcile their past and deduce which of them has truly crossed the line and committed the unspeakable act of murder.
FLETCHER, in the face of mounting adversity, becomes an unlikely hero and rallying point for the other guests. However, balancing a murder investigation with unresolved romantic tension for VIRTUE becomes quite the circus act. Meanwhile, SCOUT keeps drinking, JADE keeps pointing blame, HORNE continues to make shameless advances on the grieving men and women, and GRUBB still wonders just who in the hell all these people are.
What is more, the bloodthirsty partygoer has no intention of stopping with KINDERLAND. One by one the guests are poisoned, strangled and stabbed as the killer in their midst edges closer to becoming the sole heir to KINDERLAND’s fortune.
Soon, only FLETCHER remains to confront the villain... but this confrontation brings new, horrifying revelations about FLETCHER’s childhood, and the true nature of his adopted father.

Development

The play was developed at Higher Ground, a South Australian arts venue, as part of the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival. The writer recieved the Independent Arts Foundation Literature Award based on a body of work, including A Stab in the Dark<ref>Media Release available from http://www.sayab.org.au/sayab/</ref>. The show itself is a murder mystery parody, closely modelled on And Then There Were None but in the fast-paced comic style of Clue and Murder By Death

References

External links

Article from: The Advertiser

Article From: AusStage: Gateway to performing Arts (Official Australian Theatre Database)

South Australian Youth Arts Board