Fundraising will be murder at the mansion

If screams ring out at Ditchley Park tomorrow night, fear not. Because while murder is afoot, it’s all been carefully master minded by The Theatre Chipping Norton.

A year in the planning, Murder at the Mansion is the brainchild of the theatre’s artistic director John Terry who was determined to come up with an evening to remember, when the stately home offered up its premises for a night of fundraising.

“We wanted to do something between a show and a party, a real summer event, while picking up on the history of the house near Charlbury,” he says.

“Because during the Second World War this is where Churchill came with his family when his security considered him ‘vulnerable’ or when the weather was too clear for him to stay at Chartwell.

“He would hold meetings with the government and spend the weekend here with his family. It was his rural retreat. So it has an interesting back story, perfect for a murder mystery we thought.”

Terry therefore requires your crime solving skills, because tomorrow night, guests will discover that Churchill’s head of security has been murdered.

The PM is en route and you have to help find the murderer before Churchill himself arrives.

“We are taking the traditional murder-mystery format and giving it a theatrical stage,” Terry explains, “so the whole experience will be accompanied by The Glamophones, a 1940s vocal swing band like the Andrews sisters, and there will be a bar and picnic areas, replica classic cars, as well as time to stroll round the grounds before people take part in the murder/mystery part of the evening.

“The house and grounds are beautiful, it should be a good night,” Terry promises. “And as Ditchley is now used mainly as a conference centre, often for political or governmental meetings, it’s still very relevant.

How involved will the audience have to be tomorrow night? “Well the 1940s fancy dress is optional, but otherwise it’s all relatively gentle.

“Detective Inspector Essio will obviously be on hand for the actual murder/mystery side of the show tomorrow night, so the audience is just there to help him solve it and question the suspects alongside him.

“We just wanted to put on something different, something immersive, something summery and nothing too taxing,” John adds.

Is the ongoing fund-raising for Chipping Norton’s famous theatre a life-line then?

“It’s vital, because it covers the less popular, but equally as important, work that we do – the dementia friendly shows, those for the hard of hearing.

“It fills the gap left by the outreach programmes.

“And considering the theatre is seen as an entertainment venue, it’s nice to be able to give something back to the community by showing them a good time, which after all is the nuts and bolts of our industry.”

With only 100 tickets released for the night itself though, you’ll need to book quickly if you want to find out who dunnit’.

Box office on 01608 642350 or chippingnortontheatre.com

Murder at the Mansion 
Tomorrow from 5pm
Ditchley Park , £25
01608 642350 chippingnortontheatre.com