YORK actor and drama tutor Michael Lambourne has written and directed a murder mystery, The Curse Of The Amazon Pearl, for unravelling in the De Grey Rooms ballroom tomorrow and Friday.
In his play, after spending the last three years in the darkest depths of the South American jungle, Peregrine Lackington-Whit returns home having found one of the lost treasures of the Amazon, The Giant Pearl of Falsuma, Queen of the Catawishi.
Discovered by the Portuguese, the pearl mysteriously vanished while on its trip back to Europe and not one soul who set eyes on it returned alive. However, thanks to a bout of British bravado and the considerable cash his family has invested, Peregrine believes he has finally bought the largest ever product of a bivalve mollusc to good old Blighty for safe keeping and no doubt some prestige.
Yet is everything as it seems? Why is his sister Ottilie so furious with her brother's exploits? Why is his parent so keen to keep the pearl a secret? How come a famous country singer has turned up? And who invited an angry bishop to this pleasant party in the ballroom?
Michael Lambourne, centre, and his fellow cast members Laura Prior, Mandy Newby, Andy Love and Sarah Louise Davies.
"Join us for an evening of mystery. Meet the suspects, harbour your suspicions and make sure that if there is murder in mind you’ll be first to discover the killer that pulled the trigger, the butcher with the blade or the perpetrator with the poison and reveal ‘Whodunit’," says Michael, whose show takes the form of a "promenade interactive evening of entertainment".
The writer-director is a familiar face from York Theatre Royal productions, such as The Railway Children, The Legend Of King Arthur, Two Planks And A Passion and The Wind In The Willows.
He will lead the cast in the role of Peregrine Lackington-Whit, joined by Mandy Newby as Ursula Lackington-Whit; Sarah Louise Davies as Ottilie Lackington-Whit; Laura Prior as Bunny Love; Jonny Neaves as Sasparilla Sam and Andy Love as Bishop B’hardbreeth.
Tickets for tomorrow and Friday's 7.30pm shows cost £20 or £18 on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and the price includes a mid-show buffet. By the way, the super sleuth who solves the case each night will receive a prize.
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