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Touring theatre company New Perspectives arrives in Parwich on Sunday to perform He Wore a Red Hat. This is the first play in Parwich since the Memorial Hall was re-built.

Pat Ashworth, reviewing the production in The Stage, the trade paper for the theatre, writes:

Eccentric and inventive, an antidote to panto for the festive season.

This inventive three-hander from Jack McNamara, artistic director of New Perspectives, will be one of the more eccentric offerings around this Christmas, a seasonal whodunnit that is mischievously – and not always comfortably – off the wall.

Its hero is an unpublished poet, Josh Rogan, who turns volunteer detective to help solve village crimes that are very much against the spirit of Christmas. He’s given to composing as he cycles, and his character takes charge of the play itself, directing the sound desk operator (enigmatically masked first as TS Eliot and then as Sylvia Plath) and ordering the action, while the audience acts as a corporate witness to the investigation. There is also a clever and authentic use of Skype on the big screen to bring in the wider participants in the drama.

The foil to the rather sardonic Rogan (Gerry Howell) is the bashful, beaming protege, affectionately played by Mufaro Makubika. Kate Kordel as the mysterious young woman, Gwyne, is the focus for some of the play’s biggest surprises. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek and even the obligatory happy ending has a bit of a twist. The antidote to panto, it is touring village venues throughout the East Midlands in the run-up to Christmas.

Productions by New Perspectives frequently attract favourable reviews from publications such as the FT, New York Times, and on line at the Huffington Post.

The Memorial Hall Committee has been busy planning the evening. A licence for the bar has been obtained and mince pies will be on offer.

Tickets are on sale in the Sycamore at £10 each or can be bought on line at Touring theatre company New Perspectives arrives in Parwich on Sunday to perform He Wore a Red Hat. This is the first play in Parwich since the Memorial Hall was re-built.