Busman’s Honeymoon Review – The Mill At Sonning
On Friday I took a trip to my favourite dinner theatre, The Mill At Sonning, in Reading. A former mill that has been converted to now house a theatre and restaurant. An intimate theatre that seats just 215, The Mill at Sonning is now celebrating their 40th year. And currently showing until 25th June is Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers and Muriel St. Clare Byrne. Described as a love story with detective interruptions, this production is being directed by Brian Blessed.
Lord Peter Wimsey, upper crust sleuth, has married his lovely fiancée, Harriet Vane. But his honeymoon bliss is shattered when the dead body of the house’s previous owner turns up in the cellar. I’m a big fan of detective novels and murder mysteries so I was excited to see this show. Especially as Brian Blesses is directing and I really liked his production of Towards Zero, previously shown at The Mill.
Busman’s Honeymoon has three different acts throughout the show, with a twenty-minute interval between act 2 and 3. I would have liked the interval to be a little earlier as the first two acts were quite long altogether. However, the second half was so interesting, and the big reveal was so imaginative I forgave the long wait. There’s something about trying to guess whodunnit and then seeing if the ending does the killer justice in the reveal. And whilst I did work out the killer’s identity, I could not have imagined how they perpetrated the crime.
Natalie Titchener’s costume designs were quite something, especially Lord and Lady Wimsey’s tux and gown in Act 3. Although this does not surprise me as Natalie also designed the costumes for Top Hat and Singin’ In The Rain, spectacular all round! Michael Holt’s set design was functional, easily manoeuvrable for set changes and worked well for the production. Although I was sad, they didn’t use the set to spook the audience and instead had the death scene happen off stage. But then maybe I’m just too much of a fan of the macabre.
I was a big fan of Joanna Brookes and George Telfer in the roles of Mrs Ruddle and Bunter respectively. They were the opening scene of Act 3 and had great chemistry and stage presence, really commanding the audience’s attention. I was slightly confused by the character of Constable Joe Sellon who seemed to be both the bumbling idiot character and have serious moments. The character seemed to contradict itself and kept taking me out of the moment. But I will say that Luke Barton fully took on the role and played both sides very well.
Of course, I can’t write about The Mill without mentioning the dining portion of the evening. All tickets included a two course meal and if you haven’t been yet make sure to try their famous Steak Pie! This time round I had the Steak Pie, Chicken and Bacon in White Wine Sauce, and potatoes in gravy. Followed by a dessert of chocolate mousse, a lovely choice but a little too rich for me to finish. I would definitely recommend visiting The Mill at Sonning, whether to see Busman’s Honeymoon or a future production. It’s especially lovely to go in the summer with the sun shining across the surrounding waters.
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Photo Credit: Andreas Lambis
