The Mysterie of Maria Marten and the Murder in the Red Barn

Synopsis

Tongues are wagging as the drunken yokels in a small Essex village get mixed up in the biggest murder mystery of 1827...Dashing Squire Corder is determined to seduce young peasant girl Maria. But what fate awaits the pretty maiden in his infamous Red Barn? A roll in the hay, or murder most foul? When Maria disappears, Corder is accused. Is this upper class rogue really a murderous villain? Enter Lady Augusta Holmes - the eccentric, know-it-all sleuth to discover the truth. What is the Gypsy woman's secret? Who's burning hay ricks? Should Maria's Dad sweat the goat? Chris Bond takes a story based on real life events and adds songs, suspense, and a generous dollop of laughter - but watch out for the talking scarecrows in this bawdy Victorian melodrama!

Our Review:

Anne Morley-Priestman - 1 November 2010

They’re a friendly crowd at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch, willing to enter into the spirit of things with gusto. As far as Chris Bond’s comedy thriller The Mysteie of Maria Marten and the Murder in the Red Barn is concerned, that includes baa-ing like a strayed flock of sheep right on cue. Every time.

You’ll gather from this that Bond’s play, nicely decorated with appropriate folk- and programme-derived music, isn’t just a re-hash of the popular melodramas which proliferated after the actual 1827 crime. It weaves social commentary as well as a neat twist to fictional as well as factual personalities into the story; this was a period of great agricultural and industrial upheaval in East Anglia as elsewhere.

Norman Coates’ set teases us on several levels. It’s framed by a false proscenium, trucks on various homes and the eponymous barn which look like something out of a contemporary woodcut and suggests throu...

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