Tipling Stage Company gets serious about being funny

March 5, 2015 · 0 Comments

The hilariously funny mystery farce But Why Bump Off Barnaby? is coming to Shelburne
When Barnaby is murdered at Marlgate Manor, it is quite obvious that he had a motive to murder everybody else but… nobody has a reason to murder him. So, with a murderer on the loose, a mystifying limerick, a treasure hunt for a secret family fortune, secret passageways, revolving doors and poisoned drinks, there is a frantic and hilarious rush to solve the clue he leaves behind before anybody else is killed.
Members of the Tipling Stage Company, Shelburne Community Theatre, have been rehearsing the well-known Rick Abbot farce throughout these last freezing cold weeks – not just rehearsing but working on the various “unusual”, shall we say, props and furniture the play calls for. The result is going to be the funniest production the Company has come up with yet in the seven years since it was founded by the Town of Shelburne to bring theatrical entertainment to it’s wonderful old Grace Tipling Concert Hall, built for the citizens of old to gather for song dance and laughter on winter evenings.
But Why Bump Off Barnaby? really is hilariously funny. Actors who are off stage at various points are still reacting with uncontrollable laughter to those on stage even after witnessing the scenes many times over. The murder of Barnaby, played by Eric Nagler, is pricelessly farcical as he desperately tries to communicate a clue to the murderer’s identity to the dimwit granddaughter, played by Tipling newcomer Daphne Rodaway, and her erstwhile fiancé, played by Josh Oatman. The production is directed by Jean Jardine Miller, and features a cast of several of Shelburne audiences’ favourite Tipling Stage Company actors.
Performances are March 27th, 28th at 8 p.m. and March 28 & 29th at 2 p.m. at Grace Tipling Hall, 203 Main Street East, Shelburne. Tickets are available at Shelburne Town Hall, Holmes Appliances and Music Shop, Caravaggio’s IDA and online at tiplingstagecompany.com