In Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime, Street Theatre highlighted why they are one of the county's best and most celebrated companies. Furthermore, this excellent company have regularly chosen The Wyndham Arms in Kingsbury Episcopi (where this performance was held) as a venue for rehearsing and performing their work. Pubs as a venue for theatre remind us of the traditions of live performance; of bringing different people together for a good laugh, for entertainment and for the good of the community. A really twisty thing Inspector Drake is David Tristram's Sherlock Holmes, the story being a classic pastiche of the crime thriller genre. As a piece of writing, it contains clearly developed characters who are uncomplicated and cleverly sketched, and a storyline with more twists than, to quote the play, a really twisty thing. Dr Rupert Short calls local bobby Sgt Plod to his London home to report his wife is missing. The daft Plod calls Scotland Yard ("what is the code for Scotland?") and brings in Inspector Drake, one of the force's best crime solvers; the best of the best. Drake soon realises that there is more to Short's story than meets the eye. When the Doctor's daughter Sabrina returns home from Canada, only to be closely followed by another woman claiming to be his daughter Sabrina also returning from Canada, it is clear that this is not an open and shut case. Mistaken identity, double entendres and a barrage of cheap jokes fill the play. Towards the end of the production, I just wanted the Inspector to get on with doing his job instead of trying to kiss Miss Short at every available opportunity. After promising much at the start, David Tristram's script falls foul of trying to force the simple characters down too many false paths. It is easy to over complicate matters for the sake of comedy and the script is guiltier of this misfortune than Dr Short is of his wife's murder. It was the delight of the performances and David Harding's excellent direction that held the evening together. Accomplished acting John McGrouther was sublime as Sgt Plod. His monologues were a joy and his comic timing second to none. McGrouther has a natural ability to switch between talking to fellow actors and audience, and must have a very bruised head, having been hit over it many times, mainly by the Inspector. Plod hammers home the spoof qualities of the play and McGrouther never failed in this department. Rob Prince was perfectly confident, cocky, brave, and ever so slightly confused as Inspector Drake. Drake is a man who is sure of his own ability even when he has no idea what is going on, and Prince was purely regal in this. He took control when he arrived on the small stage and had an excellent relationship with McGrouther's Plod. Prince also played Drake as a top drawer nemesis to Dr Short with a never-ending game of chess, and an eternal battle for psychological brilliance. Neil Howiantz was accomplished as Dr Short, oozing a mixture of charm and evil, never giving a clue away despite Drake's attempts to catch him out. A master at chess, a genius doctor and, as we discover, a master of disguise, Howiantz succeeded at all of these. As the straight character in a play full of buffoons, Howiantz resisted the temptation of playing for comedy, a factor that made Dr Short even stronger. Rachel House and Julie Billing gave strong support as the Sabrina/Miss Short impostors, and it was interesting to see that as the play's denouement approached, neither were 100-percent convinced that they had, or had not, aided the evil Doctor in his shenanigans. I, for one, will continue to watch Street Theatre. Their next production, Don Taylor's The Exorcism, visits Strode Theatre in November. A "wonderfully creepy Christmas ghost story originally shown on TV as a part of the Dead of the Night series", this is sure to be a feast. | 
