The Wedding
Reception – A Murder Mystery Pack by Archie Wilson
Customer
Taster, Extracted from the main pack
Dillon
Jackson and Lindi Armitage have just been married. Not everyone is happy about
the union, particularly Dillon’s father Bob Jackson, an obnoxious egotistic
tyrant. As skeletons tumble from cupboards one of the wedding party gets their
comeuppance. Enter sleuth Sherbert Holmes to help the guests solve a dastardly
murder!
About this pack
The
full pack should provide everything you need to stage your own Murder Mystery.
It
is intended for use at a three course sit down meal where the principal characters
will act out a set of events to the assembled guests.
Please
remember from the outset that this pack is intended for an improvised performance although there are set lines for some characters. Your cast
must use the information provided to develop their characters their “back stories” and improvise the action
when and where the situation arises. They must stay in character from the
moment the guests arrive until the plot is complete and the murderer is unmasked.
This means that your performers are less constrained and restricted, can react
and interact with each other and the guests at will and have a lot more fun!
This
includes:
A plot overview
General staging notes on how to plan your
murder mystery event
Character overview including motive and opportunity to murder the victim
Questions to be asked by DCI Holmes and responses for
each character
Denouement by DCI Holmes
Table cards listing characters as
information for your guests and “Whodunnit” sheets for guests to complete
are also included with this pack.
Plot Overview
At
the wedding of Dillon Jackson to Lindi Armitage, the following people are
present:
*Lindi Jackson (nee Armitage)
*Dillon Jackson: Just wed to Lindi
*Bob Jackson: Father of the groom
*Sophie Jackson: Mother of the groom
*Gerald Armitage: Father of the bride
*Marjorie Armitage: Mother of the bride
*John Greengrass: Best Man
*Isobel Cranforth: Bridesmaid
*Penny Clithero: Bridesmaid
General Staging Notes
Casting/rehearsal
Your
chosen performers should be issued with a copy of this entire pack. You should
hold as many rehearsals as required depending on experience of performers. The
first rehearsal should concentrate on reading through this pack and getting a
feel for how the event is structured and the role that each character has to
play in the plot. Before the second rehearsal the performers should further
prepare their back stories using the basic character analysis sheets as a base.
At the second rehearsal these should be read out by each performer in
character.
As
it is impossible to rehearse the whole event without that all-important
audience to react to, you should concentrate on cementing motives and
relationships within the group. These can be rehearsed by the performers, more
to prove they can improvise and keep up a convincing performance than word for
word content. DCI Holmes can use a notepad from which to read the set questions
and denouements.
Facilities
required for the performers
The
performers need a separate private room for their use. They will use this prior
to the event to get changed and prepared and will use the room during the event
where they can exchange notes and discuss any change of tactics. The murder
victims will also use this room once deceased! The performers will be given the
same food as the guests but will be served by members of the wedding party and
will eat first as part of the “Wedding Breakfast.”
It
would be sensible to check the facilities before the event to make sure
sufficient space is available to stage the “Interrogation” by DCI Holmes.
Recommended
event format
The
evening works best if structured round a sit down meal. If the event is being
staged in hotel this may be a formal, served, multi-course meal, but if the
event is staged in a hall or private venue you could lay-on a simpler meal or
even a table buffet. Ideally there should be a table free area in which cast
and guests can mix (Pre dinner drinks) before sitting down to the meal in an area
set aside for that purpose. If this is not possible guests can be shown to
their tables immediately. A table for the Wedding party should be placed
separately at the top of the room, raised if possible.
Suggested
timetable
Character Overview,
Motive and Opportunity
Dillon
Jackson
Not
a particularly nice guy but a magnet to the girls. Into drug dealing, typical “East Ender” mentality… reckons he can
get anything for the right price. Takes, and occasionally deals in drugs. Manager
of Kill-A-Rat pest Control Company. A loud, brash, colorful extrovert. Although
he treats his new wife reasonably well she is left with no doubt that he is in
charge. Hated (with a passion!) by both in-laws! Idolized by John Greengrass,
who is his Best Man at the wedding. Greengrass thinks Dillon is wonderful and
backs him to the hilt in everything he does or says. Isobella, one of the
bridesmaids, has an ongoing affair with Dillon, his marriage notwithstanding.
Penny, the second bridesmaid, would like to have an affair with him but Dillon
is not interested and makes this quite clear to her – in no uncertain terms.
Motive
*Very
bad childhood. Constantly beaten for the slightest error.
*Ridiculed
and made to look and feel a fool in front of his friends and later his
girlfriends.
*Is
aware that his father beats his mother and that he has had many affairs of which
Bob brags to his son.
*Hates
the way Bob now treats Lindi.
*Manager
of Kill-A-Rat… has access to poisons on a daily basis.
*Has
all sorts of unsavory friends through his drug dealing.
*Insists
on inspecting the food before it is being served.
Pre dinner
drinks (Approx. 45 mins)
(Please note that non
guilty parties MUST tell the truth although they do not have to volunteer
information if not asked for it. Sophie Jackson and Gerald Armitage can lie
through their teeth. John Greengrass, although implicated in the murder, does
not know it so MUST tell the truth.)
Guests
are supposedly relatives and friends of the bride and bridegrooms families. As
in the norm with wedding receptions of the wedding party line up at the door to
welcome the guests as they come in. This gives them the opportunity of formally
introducing themselves as well as dropping tidbits of information about
themselves and the others, thus sowing the seeds of the chaos to follow! At
this point guests are offered a drink (usually Bucks Fizz!) as they exit the
line.
When
everybody is in, Gerald Armitage, the bride’s father, welcomes them to the
wedding of his daughter and tells them to enjoy themselves. Cast and guests
intermingle for approx. forty-five minutes during which time clues and red
herrings are dropped to the guests. Certain actions must take place during pre
dinner drinks. Sophie Jackson must tell John Greengrass to “go and get some drinks
for the wedding party.” Greengrass must go out to the back room and reappear with a
tray of white wine only. Sophie must make it clear to him that
her husband Bob, only drinks red wine and that she would fetch
him a glass from the back room. On returning she must place the red wine
amongst the white wines on Greengrass’s tray.
She
must instruct him to make sure he gives the glass of red wine to Bob Jackson.
John Greengrass must do this. Bob Jackson is an obnoxious man and should insult
all and sundry including the guests. He is also a lecher and should try to chat
up female guests. He should be particularly obnoxious towards Lindi and her
family.
Sophie
Jackson seems quiet and unobstrusive but she should let it be known that Bob is
a violent man and has struck her in the past… She shows the bruises to prove
it. She has cultivated an intimate relationship with Gerald Armitage in order
to use his knowledge of pharmacy but has fallen in love with him. She wises Bob
dead because he beats her and more recently so that she would be free to marry
Gerald.
John
Greengrass is a simple lad and follows Dillon around like a little lap dog. He
will do anything for Sophie Jackson because she has been kind to him in the
past. He has no idea she is using him to affect a murder. He loathes Bob
Jackson because he knows he beats Sophie Jackson and has been known to beat his
son… John’s hero.
Gerald
Armitage has fallen hook line and sinker for Sophie, he thinks she is the
answer to all his dreams and is planning to leave his wife as soon as Sophie
gives the word. His motive for murder is the desire to avenge the pain inflicted
upon Sophie and because she would then be free to marry her after divorcing
Marjorie.
Marjorie
Armitage is as quiet as a little mouse. She has no idea her husband is having
an affair and is still madly in love with him. She has no motive for murder
whatsoever.
Dillon
is very proud of his new wife. This did not stop him from having an affair with
one of the bridesmaids, however, and he is desperate that Lindi doesn’t find
out. He hates his father because he was severely beaten as a child and he knows
his dad beats his mother whom he loves dearly.
Lindi
Jackson is head over heels in love with Dillon and continually looks at him
through adoring eyes. She can see no fault in him whatsoever. She has no idea
he is having a relationship with Isobel Cranforth. She loathes Bob Jackson
because he has continually insulted her and her family, tried to stop her
marrying Dillon and made an attempt to seduce her.
Isobel
Cranforth is madly jealous of Lindi despite the fact that they have been
friends for years. She loves Dillon and wished that it was she marrying him and
not Lindi. She deliberately engineered an intimate relationship with Dillon on
the basis of “If
I’m not number one I sure as hell will be number two!” She wishes Bob Jackson
dead because he has found out about her relationship with Dillon and has
threatened to expose her if she doesn’t sleep with him.
Penny
Clithero is plain and mousy. She is also highly intelligent and she too is in
love with Dillon Jackson although nobody knows but herself. Dillon is very rude
to her because of her plain looks. She is a very close friend of Isobel’s and
knows all about Bob Jackson’s attempt at blackmail and seduction. She hates Bob
with a passion, even more so because he constantly taunts her over her lack of
looks… Particularly in front of other people, like at wedding receptions!
At
the end of pre dinner drinks, Bob Jackson yells for his wedding breakfast and
insists that all the wedding party sit at the top table and be served first. As
Mrs. Armitage’s catering company prepared the meal, she, Isobel, John
Greengrass and Penny serve the others who are already seated. After tucking in
for a short while and before any guest has been served, Bob Jackson stands and
makes a speech. You can use the following scripted speech or one of your own.
It should be as insulting as possible!
Bob Jackson’s
Speech
Bob: Good evening, Ladies and
Gentlemen… although I can’t see any ladies and the only gentleman here is
standing giving a speech! (A pause for effect. He
is evidently the only person who finds this funny.)
Bob: You’re probably thinking
that it is customary for the Bride’s father to do the first speech and you’d be
right under normal circumstances but my son’s new Father in Law is such a buffoon
that I insisted on starting the procedures myself. (Another
pause for effect)
Bob: I’d like to be able to
say that I’m happy my boy has married Lindi but that would be a lie. He should
have found himself a decent girl not some half baked lower middle class little
trollop. Still, perhaps she’s got other attributes I’m not aware of… At the
moment anyway. (Pause) I thought I’d beaten some
sense into Dillon throughout his childhood but obviously not. He’s as stupid
now as he was whilst he was in his mother’s womb, but that’s to be expected,
after all my wife was close to the bottom of the well when the water of
intelligence was drawn. (A pause. He’s not
winning them over, but he doesn’t care.)
Bob: For your sakes I tried to
persuade the Best Man not toe make a speech. Best Man, ha! That’s a joke. Look
at him, wimp through and through. He has about as much testosterone in him as one
of the bridesmaids, although Penny there looks as if she’s more male than
female! (Another pause for effect)
Bob: They say that when you
start off married life you should have no secrets. Well, I would ask my son’s
new bride to have a little chat with her “Best Friend” the tarty Miss.
When
I was just a stripling lad, my Father said to me
Get
yourself a wife my boy, and here’s how she must be
Sufficient
mouth to sweetly smile, but enough to nag
Sufficient
breast to fill your hand, but not enough to sag
Two
hands to do the washing up, and bring you pots of ale
As
you sit lordly on your throne, because you are the male
Brains
enough to understand, the wisdom of your ways
But
not enough to question them and clutter up your days
A
body plump but firm and full, and good to look at too
So
you can show her off all day, as she belongs to you
A
wife, a nurse, a mother sweet, all rolled up into one
A
mistress, whore and lover too, so you can have your fun
If
you can find a girl like this, you’re a very lucky lad
I
fear she’ll be too much for you, so bring her home to dad!
After the
speech
When
Bob’s speech is over he utters a long, hearty laugh, then splutters, coughs and
collapses. The wedding party gather round. Eventually Dillon comes to the fore
and explains that there has been a terrible accident and if all the guests
would please be seated and keep calm the wedding would retire to the back room
whilst the police and ambulance are called. They pick up Bob Jackson and retire
to the room set aside. After a few minutes a police siren is heard.
First
course is served to the guests and during this the wedding party return and
wander amongst the tables disseminating information and expressing their
absolute horror at what happened to ‘poor’ Bob. At the end of the meal, DCI Sherbert Holmes appears.
Holmes calls all the wedding guests to the front where a semi circle of chairs
has been placed before the reception started. He addresses the assembled
guests.
Holmes: Good evening, Ladies and
Gentlemen. You all witnessed the collapse and death of Mr. Bob Jackson a short
while ago. My backroom staff have worked miraculously quickly to provide me
with an autopsy report – which states that the cause of death was an
intolerably high level of poison in his blood stream. The poison used was a
derivative of Warfarin, which I’m sure you’ll know as a relatively slow acting
poison, taking up to an hour to become effective, and is odorless, tasteless
and liquid soluble. The dose found in Mr. Jackson’s blood was so high it caused
a massive brain hemorrhage. Yes, Bob Jackson was brutally and foully murdered.
It seems highly likely that one of wedding party committed this dastardly deed
and I intend to interrogate each and every one.
(Holmes
calls each member to the seats at the front and proceeds to question them as
below. Please note that some answers are in brackets and are obligatory
although you can change the wording if you wish.)
Questions
for John Greengrass
Holmes: Mr. Greengrass, you were
overhead telling one of the guests that you hated Bob Jackson and would “Do him over if he wasn’t
careful.” Is
this true?
(Response)
Holmes: Where do you work?
(Response)
Holmes: Is this the same firm
managed by Dillon Jackson?
(Response)
Holmes: Do you have access to
poison Mr. Greengrass?
(Affirmative response)
Holmes: Any poison in particular?
(Response: Rat poison)
Holmes: What poison would that be?
(Response: Warfarin)
Holmes: What sort of
relationship do you have with Dillon Jackson?
(Response)
Holmes: And Mrs. Sophie Jackson?
(Response)
Holmes: Did you have access to
the food on that day?
(Response: Checked it)
Holmes: Did you have access to
the drinks?
(Response: Served them)
Holmes: So you could have put
something in the food or the drink!
(Response)
Holmes: Thank you Mr.
Greengrass, pleas sit down.
Questions
for Isobelle Cranforth
Holmes: What sort of
relationship did you have with Bob Jackson?
(Response: Not good)
Holmes: Why not?
(Response: Tells of
attempted blackmail)
Holmes: What was he trying to
blackmail you over?
(Response: Tells of
affair with Dillon)
Holmes: So you had a good reason
to want him out of the way!
Holmes: Where do you work?
(Response: Upper Crust
Catering Co. )
Holmes: Is that the placed owned
by Mrs. Armitage?
(Response)
Holmes: And the company that
supplied the food for the occasion?
(Response)
Holmes: Did you prepare any of
the food yourself?
(Response: The specials)
Holmes: These “Specials”. Are these the dishes brought
out specifically for the wedding breakfast on the day of the murder?
(Response)
Holmes: Do you have access to
poisons or drugs Miss Cranforth?
(Response: Hesitates but
tells of Dillon’s drug dealing and his bragging that he “Can get anything… For
a price”)
Holmes: Thank you Miss.
Cranforth, please be seated.
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