Smoke & Mirrors

As everyone knows, actors, even those who are clearly going places like Mr Rain, spend much of their time ‘resting’ — waiting for their agent to ring with offers of auditions or, better, lucrative contracts.

But instead of hanging about in a silk dressing gown, velvet slippers, and smoking a cigarette through a holder — to conjure up a Noel Coward-like image — Mr Rain has found a way to turn his beloved profession into a business; one that keeps him busy even when he is not employed by TV, film or theatre companies.

In October 2012 he and drama teacher-cum-theatre producer Sue Baxter founded Smoke & Mirrors, a murder mystery company that after a slow start is now buzzing along, pulling in the bookings for public shows, hen and stag parties, corporate entertainments, pub fun and any other kind of event you can imagine.

Mr Rain, 30, recalls the early days of the business were tricky because, understandably, customers tend to rely on word-of-mouth and with no track record, landing jobs was difficult.

Having established an impressive website, lined up actors of all shapes and sizes, and marketed the enterprise at every possible level, still no bookings came in for nine months. Then, like a row of double-deckers, three arrived at once and Smoke & Mirrors was up and running.

He said: “The three were booked for the same week too. I was also acting in Holby City on BBC TV and I had recently finished playing Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Oxford Playhouse. And on top of all that my mother was getting remarried on the previous Thursday . . .”

The first major production was a public performance at the Wilton Windmill, Wiltshire, the only working windmill in the west of England.

The dramatic possibilities of hanging someone through the trap doors usually used for hauling up sacks of grain immediately struck Mr Rain. “I got killed there,” he commented, casually.

Then there were two corporate shows to stage, one of which had not yet been written.

In one of these Mr Rain was thrown in a swimming pool.

Ms Baxter is drama teacher at St Gabriel's independent school in Newbury. She is also a frequent director of plays staged by the Oxford Theatre Guild (she directed Mr Rain as Cyrano, for instance).

Above all, her huge enthusiasm for anything to do with the performing arts is possibly equalled only by Mr Rain's.

She first met Mr Rain in 2004 when he was acting in a production of Chaucer's Mystery Plays at Cranbourne College which she co-directed.

She said: “We always found we worked well together and when Alex left the London Academy of Dramatic Art (LAMDA) we decided to set up Smoke & Mirrors. It offers an opportunity for writing, acting and producing.”

She added: “I have also found that even people who would not normally think of themselves as theatre-goers enjoy participating in Smoke & Mirrors productions so much that they want to see more live theatre, or even get involved in it which is great.”

In other words, her love of theatre is catching. And certainly the sheer fun of staging murder mysteries in beautiful houses and castles seems to be the main motivating force for everyone involved in the business.

“We can suggest locations or go anywhere, but our shows are ‘site-specific’ — specially designed for each place."

I met Mr Rain for a brief interview before he hurried on to the Burford Garden Centre where he was scheduled to put on a stage version of Alice in Wonderland the following weekend.

He said: “Things are picking up now. I took four bookings last week alone and now we are averaging more than a show a month.

“We have about 20 actors on the books who we use regularly. What I really enjoy as much as anything is building up the business. Prices range from £500 to about £1,700 and its great to be there at the point of customer satisfaction at the end of a show “ And what is impressive is his capacity for hard work.

As well as running Smoke & Mirrors, he is a supply teacher at the Oxford Academy where he teaches drama and English.

In this context he remarked: “I would recommend murder mysteries for anyone teaching drama because it teaches you to ad lib.”

And what is the next big public event? Something called Swine of Passion at the Gloucester Old Spot pub, Cheltenham, on March 20, in which a rich baronet gets unstuck. Where on earth do these plots come from?

Mr Rain said: “Well I scour the newspapers for storms of idiocy, or for any motivation that might make people bump each other off.

“But you cannot plan for 95 per cent of any event. If anyone has any particular idea or theme for a mystery, say for a stag night or hen party, I can weave it in.”

And the funniest moment?

Perhaps when he found himself dressed in drag at the reception desk of the Queen's Hotel in Cheltenham, much to the amazement of guests checking in.

Or perhaps when two off-duty cops rushed in to rescue the victim.

Such is an actor's life but Mr Rain would not have it any other way.