A Fete Worse Than Death

Summer 2016 saw Exton Drama Club’s first appearance as part of the Exton Village Fete. The Friday evening saw people gathering in the marquee in all sorts of fancy dress accustom with a fete (and a group of Morris dancers).

The Exton Drama Club then brought several wild and wonderful characters to life in the depiction of the Littlehampton Village Fete that saw the demise of Reverend Smallpiece (Brian Wood) in what later became established as a sabotaged abseil decent. Each of the characters were interrogated by Sgt Foot (Les Richards) and Doctor Harriet Ffinch (Lynn Dunning) as well as being scrutinized by the audience but in the end the guilty part was revealed to be James Troughton (Rob Hatton), journalist for the local paper.

His thirst for revenge following a leak of some personal information by the Reverend’s poisonous sister Florence Smallpiece ‘Flo’ (Rachel Feeny-Williams) led the journalist to commit this desperate act although there was no shortage of suspects at the time. The Reverend’s own wife Mary Smallpiece (Pat Cusa) was known to be a bit over friendly with the local member of the council John Forshaw (Kevin Butler). Not to mention the Reverend’s heavy handed attitude towards his wife had not gone un-noticed by his brother in law Sgt David Marsh (David Mclarin). The final cherry on the cake had to be the arrival of the Reverend’s estranged daughter, Tracey Morton (Jenny Bolt) that spun the respectable village fete to a scene of murder.

However, in the end the sleuthing skills of the audience were spot on and Mr Troughton was led away to get his just desserts while the audience enjoyed a lovely supper courtesy of The Puffing Billy. All in all a wonderful evening which left our audience very much wanting more.

Cast

Reverend Smallpiece – Brian Wood

Mary Smallpiece – Pat Cusa

Florence Smallpiece – Rachel Feeny-Williams

Sgt David Marsh – David Mclarin

Tracey Morton – Jenny Bolt

James Troughton – Rob Hatton

John Forshaw – Kevin Butler

Dr Harriet Ffinch – Lynn Dunning

Sgt Foot – Les Richards