REVIEWED BY AUDREY MUELLER
EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER
Crack a case without a detective!? Infectiously hilarious, surprisingly saucy tap-dancing murder mystery: Four Letter Word’s The Butler Did It is, to quote the girls sitting behind me in the audience, ‘this is really good!’ Four Letter Word nailed this original murder mystery play, engaging and comedic at every turn.
The play’s opening establishes its characters through their behavioural traits, rather than relying on dialogue. The Maid, Dorothy (Harper Tierney-Hunt), disrupts the set, physically upturning and misplacing items in the drawing room, before taking a nap on the floor. Withers, the Butler, played by Philip Lee follows behind fixing everything and frustratedly wakes her. It’s clear that writer and co-director Ben Provan-Koch knew his characters well and it shone through onstage – each action and line, witty or romantic, suited each persona to a tee.
The play catered to a contemporary audience well. Despite its nineteenth-century setting, present-day humour was well incorporated, notable examples including Withers giddily swinging his legs while writing in a pink fluffy diary, dead jokes made to soon and Father Forest (Elijah Valery Slavinskis), perfectly integrating childhood sexism of needing ‘two strong boys to carry the coffin’. This humour had the audience cackling in their seats. The plot was spectacularly crafted, each new turn or discovery surprising and easy to follow. The consistency of characterisation and running jokes, such as the numerous amounts of lavatories in the house, created a cohesive and familiar fictional world. However, a few times the same joke was overused for multiple character, sometimes falling flat the second time.
Direction by Ben Provan-Koch, Claire Steel and James Pringle seamlessly complemented the writing. Directions elevated the humour of the script, particularly with moments of physical comedy that had the audience giggling just as much, if not more, than scripted jokes. The chase scenes were perfectly choreographed with each character having their own way of movement, running, shuffling skipping or striding, Arthur Flemming (Belle White) drew a lot of laughs franticly bounding across the stage. Scene placement and background acting was clever and well-executed. Surprisingly (and happily) one of the chase scenes was spiced up with tap choreography, it elevated the chase sequence, delightful deviating from what would have been a mundane repetition. However, not so seamless was the integrating of a kick line within one of these chase scenes. Although always a fan favourite, seeing these characters move as a unit felt odd and out of place due to their divided opinions and intentions. Additionally, Lee overused slow dramatic dialogue delivery, minimising the shock and surprise of discovered clues.
A standout was every character’s accents, each perfectly suited and well-maintained throughout the duration of the play. Tierney-Hunt embodies a laid-back, unbothered maid, nailing the English cockney accent. The chemistry between Philip Lee as Withers and Ryan McInerney as Percy Wilde was authentic and adorable drawing many ‘awwww’s from the audience. McInerney perfectly portrayed inner turmoil of his love and social status. Constructing a detestable character is not always easily done, but Belle White as Arthur Flemming and Sophie Grant as Lady Edith pull it off flawlessly. Neave Mcgeehan, as Lord Edmund, complemented Grant’s brusque nature well, a loveable old man perfectly oblivious in each scene. Lady Charlotte, played by Alissa Haung, masterfully embodied the phrase ‘quiet but deadly’. The portrayal of our murder victim lady Agatha and useless cop Constable Jenkins (Electra Noble) was seamless, they brilliantly and flawlessly shift between the two characters. Likewise, Priest Forest/Harold (Elijah Valery Slavinskis) flawlessly transitions within his dual role, drawing many laughs in his stand-up comedy at the opening of Act 2. My personal highlight being, following an interaction with an audience member, his bursting into song performing the chorus of Disney Descendants’ ‘Rotten to the Core’. Additionally, many characters fabulously broke the fourth wall, authentically revealing information to the audience. Accompanying the great performances, hair and make-up by Jaimi Sfetcopoluos and costume by Eden Mclean provided the crowning element of each character.
The Guild theatre being a small space creates an intimate relationship to the audience, set design by Charlene Yong ingeniously reused and reworked items on stage to construct different rooms. Who knew one old shelf could not only a shelf but a bar and a bed too. The lighting by Hayley Francis-D’Amour and Josh Jones set up great separation between common spaces and private conversation, always hitting the spotlights in sync with actors and sound effects. The stage managers and cast moving the set from scene to scene was impeccable and efficient, the cast even stayed in character throughout. The stage management team Dempsey Doyle, Riley Borgeest and Tom Diggle, did excellent work adjusting the wing’s curtain, maintaining immersion in the play’s environment.
The cast and crew put on an absolutely astounding murder mystery. Mixing the vibes of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Play That Goes Wrong Four-Letter Word’s production was gravely entertaining.
The Butler Did It was presented by Four Letter Word Theatre at the Guild Theatre May 14 – 17
AUDREY MUELLER is a second year arts student, majoring in creative writing and media communications. Her love for theatre was sparked in high school and she carries this passion into her uni work, performances, reviewing and sub-editing at Unimelb.
CHARLOTTE FRASER (she/her) is a writer, performer and student editor based in Melbourne. She holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies and is currently completing her Masters degree at the University of Melbourne. Charlotte is also the 2026 Dialog Editor.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre
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