THEATRE: 07 NOVEMBER 2017 By TONI CARROLL

Bloody Murder, by Ed Sala | Directed by Michael Heming

Genesian Theatre (www.genesiantheatre.com.au) | Genesian Theatre, Sydney | Until 2 December

The Guest and I hadn’t caught up in quite a while, so we decided to meet for a drink and some food pre-theatre. She sent a link for Grandma’s Bar (www.grandmasbarsydney.com.au) as a suggestion, but almost immediately texted: “Actually … might be a bit too frat-boy hipster”.

I checked out the link and initially had to agree.

But what we found was a comfy little hole-in-the-wall bar with a warm welcome, ironic old-school music — Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, The Bee Gees — and great cocktails.

The only food on offer were jaffles. Remember jaffles? Real jaffles? Made with a jaffle iron? You know, with the edges of the bread pressed together? We chose one chicken and one vegetarian, and I have to tell you these were not the baked-bean jaffles of my camping youth. Grandma has worked some of her culinary magic on these to turn them into tasty treats.

So after delicious jaffles, two potent cocktails and lots of catch-up chatter, The Guest and I were ready to head off, and found that the theatre was located directly behind Grandma’s!

Genesian Theatre shows can be a bit of a lottery, in terms of both play choice and casting quality. But Bloody Murder, by Ed Sala, is a winner on both counts.

It’s slow to begin, and initially seems like a typical dated murder mystery.

British drawing room. Check.

A doddery Major. Check.

A rich dowager. Check.

A murder. But of course.

Any minute a moustache-twirling Agatha Marple character would surely appear, on cue.

But there are more twists in this tale than murder weapons in Cluedo.

As soon as you start to expect the usual trappings of the genre, those trappings are turned on their head and you begin to expect the unexpected, including quite a few laughs along the way.

I won’t spoil the surprises for you by revealing the premise. As much as I would like to. But I will say, think Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. I hope that’s not giving too much away.

The cast are generally up to the task and keep the pace moving, although the show would benefit from more running of lines and practice of physical ‘bits’.

Standouts are Emma Wright as both the ingenue Emma Reese and the sultry Countess, and David Luke as fading actor Devon Tremaine, the first murder victim Mr Woo and outrageously ridiculous French burglar El Gato.

All in all, a good night out!