John Frost Crossroads Live. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 22 Mar 2026

 

What a hoot!

Farce is perhaps the hardest genre in theatre. Timing, timing, timing. Escalating pace. Doors, doors, doors. Cross purposes. This John Frost Crossroads production has it all—brilliantly directed by Luke Joslin—with a mad, moveable feast of a mighty set designed by James Browne.

 

It is a set with has serious wow factor, rising to the rafters of the stage and abundantly adorned with luscious Old Master artworks. In sections, it slides seamlessly to and fro to reveal (and enable) the many rooms in which the old whodunnit game of Cluedo takes place. 

 

The location is, of course, Boddy Manor. It is ever so posh, as is its staff: French maid, bustling cook, and professional butler.

 

’Tis he—the latter—who runs the manor and who carries the show. Oh, my. In the form of butler Wadsworth, Grant Piro delivers one of the most vigorously verbose and epically energetic performances in the memory of this very seasoned critic. One becomes exhausted simply watching him and also spellbound by his impeccable line delivery: rapid-fire, with athletic embellishments, and every word superbly enunciated into the bargain. That stylised diction is one of the show’s funniest elements. Move over Noël Coward. The i’s are dotted, every last consonant lands with aplomb. English precision to the proverbial “t”.

 

The play is based on the Jonathan Lynn screenplay, but the script by Sandy Rustin—with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price—simply bounces along, packed with references for old and young. No corny vaudevillian gag is excluded; there’s plenty of contemporary wit and one-liners to furnish a big mixed audience with mirth to all tastes. And then there’s the physical shtick: fast, furious, and blissfully ludicrous. The cast works extraordinarily hard to execute it.

 

What a cast—dazzling, the lot of ’em. Where to begin, apart from the priceless Piro? Genevieve Lemon is pitch-perfect as the supercilious Mrs Peacock. Rachael Beck is pert and decidedly dodgy as Mrs White—outranked for dodginess only by David James as Professor Plum, or perhaps Adam Murphy as Colonel Mustard. Dastardly and sus, the lot of them, not excluding Olivia Deeble as the sublimely seductive Miss Scarlett. And Laurence Boxhall—never was there a more compelling portrayal of a retching wretch than his Reverend Green. Add the other players and the stage becomes very busy indeed, with terrific multiple performances throughout.

 

Cluedo is as classy as it is downright beaut: cheerful, deadly good fun.

And the frocks are utterly fabulous.

 

Samela Harris

 

When: 22 Mar to 4 Apr

Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre

Bookings: cluedoplay.com.au