Whodunit?

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This article was published 13/10/2023 (905 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the cast of Clue arrived at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre last month for the first day of rehearsals, they were greeted by Michael Duggan, a stage manager who handed out 12 sealed envelopes, each containing the same written instruction.

“Come to the boardroom.”

The 12 actors did as they were told, traipsing through the lobby and climbing up the stairs, eventually finding their way to an empty conference room, where they were split into pairs, given new identities and told in no uncertain terms to keep the pseudonyms to themselves.

Then, in walked Dennis Garnhum, a 56-year-old director with a twinkle of mischief in his eye, carrying a box wrapped with a bow. Inside was the classic murder-mystery board game that has kept players guessing since 1943; the actors had one hour to figure out whodunit.

“After an hour, they all voted and none of them got it right,” says Garnhum, who in June left his post as artistic director of the Grand Theatre in London, Ont. “And then we all introduced ourselves properly.”

By starting out the rehearsal process with a quick round of the board game, Garnhum hoped to set a playful tone for the RMTC season-opening show, a co-production with the Grand. In Duggan, he had a willing co-conspirator.

Duggan, a bespectacled, cheerful theatre pro who also happens to be a board-game nut, was ecstatic to learn that Clue was coming to town.

“As soon as I found out, I was pretty adamant that I wanted to work on this show,” he says.

Though his favourite game at the moment is the ornithologist-approved, competitive bird-collecting game Wingspan, Clue has held a special place in Duggan’s rec room since he was first introduced as a child to the game’s colourful murder suspects — Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Miss Scarlet, who always goes first.

“My wife has written into our rule book that only she gets to be Miss Scarlet,” he says.

What Duggan loves about the board game is the same thing he loves about the cult-favourite, Tim Curry-starring film adaptation, as well as the stage production, written by Sandy Rustin.

“There’s trickery at every turn as we learn more about the characters and their motivations. One of my favourite parts is the finger-pointing. It’s fun getting into the accusatory spirit,” he says.

“The joy of live theatre is engaging in the what-if,” says Garnhum, shortly after posing with Duggan for photos wielding a rope, a wrench and a candlestick.

Sometimes, that what-if is more dramatic, as it was in Garnhum’s previous directing gigs at RMTC, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Three Tall Women and Of Mice and Men. But with Clue, Garnhum and company find humour within the question marks.

With the world experiencing a good deal of uncertainty in recent years, Garnhum put out a call to his theatre colleagues asking for the “funniest play on the planet right now.” More than a few responded with Clue. So he sat down and read Rustin’s script, and fell for the farce.

Apparently, Garnhum wasn’t the only one in need of a good laugh: more than 700 actors applied to act in the RMTC-Grand production, which held auditions in Winnipeg, Toronto and London.

Ultimately, only a dozen made the cut, including Manitoba’s Sharon Bajer (Mrs. Peacock), Toby Hughes (Mr. Green), Reena Jolly (Miss Scarlet), Tracy Penner (The Cook, Singing Telegram Girl) and Kamal Chioua (Motorist, Backup Cop, Newscaster).

Rounding out the cast are several first-time RMTC performers from out of town — Petrina Bromley (Mrs. White), Beau Dixon (Colonel Mustard), Jesse Gervais (Wadsworth), Rosalie Tremblay (Yvette) and Rosie Callaghan (Unexpected Cop). Alex Furber (Mr. Boddy) and Derek Scott (Professor Plum) are each making their second appearance on the John Hirsch mainstage.

Each actor is capable of killing it, but Garnhum won’t offer any hints as to who will be found guilty.

Meanwhile, Duggan is sure that if there were any actual foul play on set, it wouldn’t get past him.

“If there was a murder during rehearsal, the stage manager would most definitely know,” he says.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com