'Laughter, mayhem, and mystery'
Lighten Up Theatre will premiere their debut production of Mystery on the Orient Express on Friday.
Lighten Up Theatre will premiere their debut production of Mystery on the Orient Express on Friday.
The production, full-of-laughs, will run across five nights between July 26 and August 3 at the Phillip Island Senior Citizen's Club.
The production is billed as a "night of laughter, mayhem and mystery," as the audience is transported across five different countries on the infamous Orient Express in order to solve the mystery of who stole Countess Pullitoffski's Romanoff pearls.
Expect zany re-imaginings of Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Gadget and Miss Marples, says Lighten Up founder and director Trish Oostendarp.
The not-for-profit theatre group was formed by Trish late last year, and the Cowes based thespian describes the road to opening night as "quite a journey".
After "a few ups and downs," Trish says the cast have "just been amazing."
For many, Mystery on the Orient Express is their first foray into the world of acting, with cast members ranging from those in their 30s, to 73-year-old Terry Fox who plays the leading character.
"It's almost like they've become a bit of an extended family now," Trish explains.
"The group is just phenomenal and just so supportive of each other and all help in any way they can."
Trish says Lighten Up theatre was inspired by a simple, yet incredibly important philosophy.
"We believe that people have so much stuff going on in life at the moment, and if we can bring a smile to their face and two hours where they can forget their worries then our job's done."
Nat Crestani, who plays the Russian Countess, says it's "definitely a 'forget about your home loans for a while' kind of evening."
