Murder on the Wireless

Elise Hawthorne                       

I’m not often transported back in time, but the old school radio play at the Ensemble Theatre does just that.

Murder on the Wireless presents two short plays. In The Dead(ly) Wives Club by Mark Kilmurry divorced detectives Teresa Scott (Georgie Parker) and Ridley Jones (Mark Kilmurry) battle with assassins, car chases, deadly wives and speeding trains in their pursuit of a criminal mastermind.

The Solitary Cyclist by Arthur Conan Doyle adapted by Mark Kilmurry follows Holmes (Mark Kilmurry) and Watson (Daniel Mitchell) as they help distraught Miss Violet Smith (Georgie Parker) discover who is pursuing her on a solitary bicycle.

Set in 1959 in the heyday of the radio play, marvel as atmospheric sound effects are created before your very eyes from galloping horses’ hooves to distant thunder to a menacing squeaky bicycle. In fact, Katie Fitchett as the sound effects gal, as they say, steals the show. She gives the audience a peek into the mastery required when creating the background sounds that helped make radio plays feel real to life. She is hilarious.

Back in the days pre TV, the internet etc., radio plays were an essential part of communal life as families, friends, couples and individuals would gather around the radio to listen to their favourite show.

Whether it be an adventure series or a drama like the famous Blue Hills which ran on the airways for years – radio as a medium gave listeners a chance to paint their own visual landscape, use their imagination just that little bit more. The voices carried the drama, the story, the energy of a situation, whereas the effects gave it that little something extra.

If you are nostalgic for the past, or just like seeing a good old fashioned hilarious play, Murder on the Wireless is for you. 5 stars from me.

Murder on the Wireless is a 90-minute performance consisting of two halves, the first half is The Dead(ly) Wives Club, by Mark Kilmurry, the second half is The Solitary Cyclist, story by Arthur Conan Doyle adapted for the stage by Mark Kilmurry.

Cast: The Dead(ly) Wives Club
Ridley Jones – Mark Kilmurry
Teresa Scott – Georgie Parker
Foley Artist (Sound Effects)– Katie Fitchett
Various – Daniel Mitchell

Murder on the Wireless by Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Kilmurry. 
13 June – 13 July,
Ensemble Theatre
78 McDougall St, Kirribilli.

Cast: The Solitary Cyclist
Sherlock Holmes – Mark Kilmurry
Dr Watson – Daniel Mitchell
Miss Violet Smith – Georgie Parker
Foley Artist (sound effects) – Katie Fitchett

For tickets visit: www.ensemble.com.au