Curtain Call to Murder

Julian Clary

WHEN a horrific on-stage death brings down the curtain at the opening night of a smash-hit new play at the prestigious London Palladium, it sends shockwaves through the theatre world.

The rumours are that the demise of the actor was a dreadful accident but there’s one person behind the scenes who is not convinced... and Jayne Oxley, a quiet, clever and experienced backstage dresser, is determined to find the killer.

As someone who has spent a lot of time working in the theatre, and confesses that he has often thought of back-stage as a perfect tinder-box for murder, the popular author, actor and comedian Julian Clary (pictured below) is well placed to bring readers not just a devilishly delightful mystery but a fascinating insight into the fiery feuds and hilarious histrionics of showbiz. Curtain Call to Murder is a wonderfully witty, devious and entertaining journey into the workings and warring of a theatre group full of divas, oversized egos and louche lotharios, all ably accompanied by a bunch of ruthless hangers-on who would likely run over their own grandmother if it meant getting a leading role, running the show or grabbing the biggest scoop.

So meet the irresistible and cheerful secret detective Jayne, the dresser who ‘prefers not to be noticed’ and consequently has the gift to notice things unnoticed. After two months without work, she’d had a premonition that something good was going to happen and two days later a letter arrived offering   her a job on the hit play Leopard Spots.

And after a few months on tour, it’s now the opening Press Night performance at the London Palladium... but tensions are running high amongst the feuding cast which includes a well-known ‘silver fox’, a national treasure, an amateur psychic and a comedian-turned-actor all vying for the spotlight.

When an unscripted on-stage incident – involving a ten-pound iron stage weight no less – leaves an actor dead and audience members screaming, it is clear only to Jayne that the drama was something much more than an accident. Can she step out of the wings and identify the killer before it is too late... or is murder set to make an encore? Written in the form of diary entries, WhatsApp group messages, newspaper headlines, police reports, letters, blogs and Clary’s own commentary as our ‘narrator,’ Curtain Call to Murder is the ideal stage set for a murderously funny theatrical production.

At its heart is a cast of unforgettable, larger-than-life characters – from the preening, squabbling actors to the backbiting backroom production team – each exquisitely and humorously imagined courtesy of Clary’s storytelling talents, forensic insider insight and mischievous wit.

Sleuthing covertly behind the scenery is Jayne, one of the show’s lowest pay grade workers but also the owner of the biggest brain on set, and she has her work cut out to find a way through the deadly drama, debauchery and sheer devilry en route to nailing the elusive murderer. Filled to the gods with plot twists, liaisons and laughter aplenty, this is a show you would be mad to miss!
(Orion, hardback, £20)