Sleuth

Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer

produced by
The ActorsNet of Bucks County
October 22 - November 7, 2004

SLEUTH

Sleuth is a 1970 Tony Award-winning play by Anthony Shaffer.

The play is set in the Wiltshire, England manor house of Andrew Wyke, an immensely successful mystery writer. His home reflects Wyke's obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing. He lures his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, to the house and convinces him to stage a robbery of her jewelry, a proposal that sets off a chain of events that leaves the audience trying to decipher where Wyke's imagination ends and reality begins.

Shaffer said the play was partially inspired by one of his friends, composer Stephen Sondheim, whose intense interest in games-playing is mirrored by the character of Wyke.

The play's first production, starring Anthony Quayle and Keith Baxter, was at London's Ambassadors Theatre.

After four previews, the Broadway production, with Quayle and Baxter directed by Clifford Williams, opened on November 9, 1970 at the Music Box Theatre, where it ran for 1222 performances.

In 1972, Shaffer adapted his play for a critically and commercially successful film version directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine.

(poster photo above right)

In 2007, Harold Pinter wrote a new screenplay adaptation for the recently-completed 2007 film Sleuth, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Michael Caine (in the role of Andrew Wyke, originally played by Laurence Olivier) and Jude Law (in the role of Milo Tindle, originally played by Caine).(see photo right)

In October 2004 George Hartpence (above left photo foreground) and Jerry Lyden (above left photo background) teamed up to present the show for the ActorsNet of Bucks County in Morrisville, PA. Directed by Cheryl Doyle, it starred Jerry Lyden as the irrasible Andrew Wyke and George Hartpence took on the role of the erstwhile lothario Milo Tindle. George also designed the set for this production.

If Jerry Lyden looks familiar, that's because you have seen him before. His numerous credits include appearances in such films as "Goodfellas", "Innocent Blood", and "Toy Soldiers". He has also appeared on TV in such shows as "Hack", "Law & Order", "Lois & Clark", "Homicide" , and many more. Jerry latest project is an independent film titled "Jersey Justice" by BrownTownFilms. For a preview and to find out more about the film, visit at http://jerseyjusticethemovie.com/index.html. To contact Jerry, e-mail at Sil4Star@msn.net.

Set Design:

The English Manor House drawing room required a second story landing and staircase to allow for the "burglery break-in" and the first act climax shooting with a tumble down a flight of stairs. The challenge was how to make a 20'x20' stage space give the impression of a grand English Manor House. The solution was to emphasize the eccentricity of the house's owner, Andrew, an fill the area in as Byzantine a manner as possible. A stairway with landing was wrapped around the entire perimeter of the stage with a false rear wall to create the "outdoor" space necessary to the burglery and establishing two more "exits" on the second story of the set. The mystery writer's study then could occupy the entire ground floor of the stage.

To create a Normanesque architectural feel, the entire stage area was taped-out and "granitized", adding a solid and foreboding background. Appropriate set pieces were added to give an English Country feel and Andrew's obsessions with games and murder mysteries created an opportunity to populate the set with all manner of games and "murder weapons". For a lark, all the murder weapons mentioned in the board game "CLUE" were included in various locations across the stage.

As a final touch, a portrait of Andrew's wife - about whom the plot revolves but who never actually appears on stage - was hung above the mystery writer's work desk.

SLEUTH set view from mid-house

stage left fireplace between exits

stage right dressing

stage left dressing

Actors'NET program cover:

(click on the cover to visit the Actors'NET web page for this show)

Unsung hero of the production: Jack Tarr

Goofing for the camera during production week

Not so "American Gothic"

Andrew's wife makes an un-scripted appearance on stage

Headshot for newest Actors'NET company member

Eberhardt Spencer in the role of Inspector Doppler