Tea Tree Players Theatre - Whats The Show

The Butler Did It!

30/05/2026 Nicole V🥉

The Butler Did It! Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The Butler Did It!

Or did he?

The Covington family are expecting their long-time friend and famous mystery novelist, Edwina Corry, over for dinner. What they didn’t expect was their neighbour and the local priest inviting themselves over … and becoming mixed up in a classic whodunnit. With a full house, everyone is a suspect, and everyone knows the classic trope – the butler always does it.

The mystery unfolds in the lush living room of the Covington’s mansion; the beautifully crafted and well-considered set provides ample room for the characters to dramatically point fingers at one another without stabbing (too many) backs. Even the exits through the doorways leading offstage have their own backdrop, which is a wonderful and thoughtful addition from the designer. The set has been well-considered, with no space left unused, and the fireplace the only space that is covered by furniture (but that’s not a drawback since anyone who stands near it during the investigation is certainly tall enough to be seen).

With lighting that plays with the space of the set and timing of the investigation it is consistent, doesn’t overwhelm the stage or performers, and is perfectly apt for the mood of the play. The only comment would be that seeing more of the red spotlight would’ve been a welcome addition to the dialogue.

As the curtain rises, and through the opening scene, a rain track plays in the background; this masks some of the performers’ lines until the rain subsides. Beyond this scene, the performers’ voices are clear, projecting their lines through the audience brilliantly, and interacting with one another very naturally. Accents are a tricky thing to maintain, and the cast showcases their skills – there are some inconsistencies, but a whole lot of work and obvious passion. The music expertly blends with the rest of the scenes, and adds to a fun layer of emphasis at key moments in the investigation.

Director Brian Godfrey and the production team show their clear passion for the theatre with every detail, from the chandelier on the set ceiling to each character’s aptly-chosen shoes; joy seeps from every pore of this production, even from Gram – the surprise performer who is sure to add some amusement to every scene she is in.

With well-timed Dad jokes, amusing miscommunication moments, a cast that clearly gets along on and off the stage, The Butler Did It! is a fun whodunnit which may not have such a predictable ending as the title suggests … bring along your deerstalker hat, watch and listen closely for clues, and see if you can figure out who the killer is!

To book tickets to The Butler Did It!, please visit https://teatreeplayers.com/production/the-butler-did-it/.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Kitchen Witches: Stirring the Pot

03/10/202503/10/2025 Genevieve Hudson🥉

Kitchen Witches Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

Tea Tree Player’s debut production of Kitchen Witches, directed by Lachie Blackwell and written by Caroline Smith, opens behind the scenes of a basic white kitchen film set for supposedly the last time. During the completion of Dolly Biddle’s final ‘Baking with Babcha’ episode, she is interrupted by longtime frenemy and chef Isobel Lomax while on air. The heated barbs that fly somehow inspire an opportunity to co-host a show, to be produced by Stephen Biddle, Dolly’s son. From there the ensuing arguments and revelations both on and off the air challenge them all to consider a more flexible definition of family, however dysfunctional it may appear.

The small cast worked well together to create a colourful palate of flavours that mixed seamlessly. Dolly Biddle, played by Michelle Hrvatin, was domineering from the beginning as she demonstrated changes in accents, costumes, and relationship dynamics throughout. Also with great comic timing, Hrvartin’s much louder persona was a fantastic contrast to her castmates. Jo-Anne Davis’s portrayal of Isobel Lomax began as delightfully simpering and superficial in comparison and growing into something floaty and gentle later. The unpredictability and hostility between the two women, despite often being in close quarters, is quite entertaining.

Often a mediator between the two witches (“with a ‘B’”) is Matt Bryker-Oman as Stephen Biddle, the long-suffering producer and son of Dolly, and is often stressed due to spiteful shenanigans. Bryker-Oman’s first stage appearance since school, his performance provided grounding and relatability amongst the tumult of the kitchen set, particularly in the second act where his character is challenged from a variety of ways. Torin Hill, as Rob the Camera Guy, provides a stable yet mostly silent presence throughout the show as he assists in setting up and operating the camera within the studio atmosphere. Hill’s few lines, despite ample stage time, certainly prove that quality over quantity can prove to be particularly memorable.

The inclusion of the audience as part of the live studio experience was a clever device, complete with handpicking ‘celebrity’ taste-testers, prompted reactions, and the sounds of genuine laughter instead of canned tracks. While some of the specific mentions of ‘audience’ names sounded a little rehearsed at the beginning, this became much more natural as it went along. Similarly, while the initial dynamics on stage felt a little hesitant, momentum was quickly gained and maintained as the show progressed.

The set itself was also impressive despite its simplicity. As all cooking shows need food to work with, even staged ones, with a working fridge/freezer being used for edible props and a sink with running water to always “wash your hands”. The amount and variety of aprons used throughout was quite amusing and were always complementary to the character that was wearing them, as did the rest of their costumes. Rather than the use of traditional wings, dressing room doors are used to further create an intimacy with the audience with proximity, and moving from the back of the stage. Lighting changes were also used sparingly but particularly to signal being on air with a brighter white light and a warmer tone for off air.

Without being indicative of a particular era, Kitchen Witches is a fun and surprisingly heartwarming show that carries some relatability in each of the characters. An enjoyable night out for some witchy cackling, a brew, and a show.

To book tickets to Kitchen Witches, please visit https://teatreeplayers.com/production/kitchen-witches/.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Girl of the Frozen North

16/08/202516/08/2025 Rob McKinnon🥉

Girl of the Frozen North Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The Tea Tree Players, under director Barry Hill, transports the audience to the freezing Yukon for this very amusing sing-a-long melodrama full of merriment and entertainment well worth attending as Adelaide’s own wintery conditions draw to a close.

The fun begins as the MC (Tim Cousins) introduces the play and the cast as they burst into song. The story proper begins during a day in June 1890 in the lobby of a dingy hotel in the Yukon Territory owned by the story’s villain, J Harrington Cesspool (Brian Godfrey). Cesspool is ordering around his employee Nanook (Georgia Gustard) as a fur trader Klaxon (Joel Strauss) enters with a bag of furs and haggles with Cesspool about their purchase price. After Trader Klaxon leaves, Cesspool tries to grab Nanook but she screams and the story’s hero, Corporal Dashiell H Goforth (Clinton Nitschke) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, enters the lobby to save her. Goforth then leaves but soon returns with Nettie Neetfoot (Charlie Klose), as she tries to evade the clutches of Cesspool, she explains that she is looking for her mother who has become lost in a blizzard as they searched for her kidnapped little brother. Nettie leaves the hotel to continue her quest.

As the story progresses, hotel guests Cleopatra Pannitt (Cathie Oldfield) the self-proclaimed “America’s gift to the Shakespearean stage” and her daughter Hyacinth Klutz (Selena Britz) both stuck at the hotel because the “touring troupe went broke at the local opera house”, are introduced. Goforth re-enters with the missing Mrs Neetfoot (Elizabeth Ferguson) and later Professor Fredrik Pjoole (John Hudson) from Washington DC arrives to study the local First Nations people’s “time-reversing experiments”. Goforth is accused of theft and tries to clear his name as the search for the missing continues.

Along the way, the MC emboldens the audience to “aaw”, “ooh”, “boo” and “cheer” but often the engaged audience is ahead of his prompting. Between scenes the audience is encouraged to sing along with the classics, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”, “Roll Out the Barrell”, “Knees Up Mother Brown” and “I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside”.

Additionally, between a scene change in Act 1, the audience is entertained by the dancing Harry the Hippy Horse (Ashlee Brown as the head and Lachlan Blackwell as the other end). In a scene change in Act 2, ballerinas Tatiana Orlovski (Lachlan Blackwood) and Olga Ripsacorsetoff (Ashlee Brown) perform “The World Famous Balloon Dance”, which is one of the hilarious highlights of the whole performance.

The production team including Beth Venning for props and set dressing, Barry Hill for set design, Damon Hill for scenic artwork, Merci Thompson for costumes and Robert Andrews and Mike Phillips for lighting and sound design and operation, are to be congratulated for producing an excellent set, costumes and a near faultless technical performance.

The cast all perform superbly, Tim Cousins is warm and enthusiastic as the MC binding the performance and the audience participation skilfully together. Brian Godfrey, with his Riff Raff like appearance, makes a first-rate villain and is outstandingly juxtaposed by the brilliantly often over-the-top performance of Clinton Nitschke. Selena Britz is also commended for her performance and her song and dance routine. The rest of the talented cast also deliver outstanding performances.

The Tea Tree Players’ Girl of the Frozen North is great fun and is full of melodrama and audience participation. Barry Hill, the cast and crew are to be congratulated for this exuberant and splendid production.

Girl from the Frozen North runs from Wednesday 13 August 2025 – Saturday 23 August 2025

Venue: Tea Tree Players Theatre

Cnr Yatala Vale Road and Hancock Road, Surrey Downs SA 5126

To book tickets to Girl of the Frozen North, please visit https://teatreeplayers.com/production/girl-of-the-frozen-north/.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Murder at Checkmate Manor

24/05/2025 Genevieve Hudson🥉

Murder at Checkmate Manor Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

A company well known for their pantomimes, comedies, and British farces; Tea Tree Players Theatre Company offer something within the same vein but perhaps at an all-new extreme. Julie Datson’s production of ‘The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery – Murder at Checkmate Manor’ will take audiences back to the era of cheesy country town hall entertainment, complete with dated fashion parades, cute quizzes during interval, and constantly breaking the fourth wall.

At the doors of the theatre, the audience is greeted and invited in by Thelma (Hayley Mitchell) who tells us she has recently been crowned ‘Miss Farndale 2025’, loudly and excitedly ushering people in. The unorthodox and absurd tone of the show is further consolidated as people are seated with elements of the small, deliberately flimsy set falling apart and the crew coming onstage to attempt to ‘fix’ them. With set walls appearing to be rushed in quality, the stair rail frequently wobbling out of place, the chess set often collapsing, chairs malfunctioning, and curtains constantly drooping, complete chaos is expected to follow.

The cast matches this level of calamity with their characters’ deliberately bad acting, including the monotonous recitation of lines, poorly timed or incorrect entrances, skipping pages of dialogue, forgotten or incomplete costume changes, uncontrollable giggling, and the correcting and prompting of each other on stage. As the show progresses, moments range from entertaining to excruciating as the plot is lost amongst the theatrical carnage, and while the identity of the murderer may be obvious, the ending is not.

With the challenge to act badly well, the actors certainly rose to the occasion and were clearly able to have a lot of fun with it. Chris Galipo channels the benevolent Mrs Reece, overwhelmed by having taken on too many characters whilst hosting and managing the community event as well. Mitchell’s Thelma is earnestly demanding in her attempts to be the centre of attention, enthusiastically delivering many of her lines to the audience rather than her co-stars. Jo-Anne Davis’s awkward performance as Felicity is comical, as she tries to navigate which side of stage to come through and juggle the incredibly quick costume changes between Butler Pawn and Colonel King.

Meredith Kreig is hysterical as Audrey, whose various characters involve a deadpan voice or giggles at inappropriate moments. Finally, Ashleigh Merriel as Sylvia, who plays Inspector O’Reilly, is fantastically matter of fact and tired of everyone else mucking around. Together, this cast lean into everything that goes wrong and encourage each other to reach the extreme of their scene.

While the set was compact, the space was used well between the five performers as it wasn’t often that they were all on at the same time. While the large white armchair, stair railing, and chessboard were central pieces, there were photographs and various ornaments scattered around were small details that added nicely to the community feel. Lighting and sound were used to keep the gags going, particularly when black outs came too early or late, the wrong sound effect was used, or just to emphasise comic timing. However, it can also be said that there comes a point where less is more, and some niche references to home video narration will go over the heads of those under the usual demographic of about 65.

Sprinkled through with the occasional innuendo and plenty of shenanigans, this production was filled with many moments where they’re so bad they’re good.

To book tickets to Murder at Checkmate Manor, please visit https://teatreeplayers.com/production/the-farndale-avenue-housing-estate-townswomens-guild-dramatic-society-murder-mystery/.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Connect Online