Clare Goddard: A Night to Die For
De Vere Dunston Hall
'Guests become sleuths for the weekend'
Eastern Daily Press: May 14th 2002
Murder and mayhem were on the menu as a Norwich hotel joined forces with the city’s Maddermarket Theatre to provide a special weekend for baffled guests.
The first murder mystery event ever to be hosted by the De Vere Dunston Hall cemented an arts-business relationship which began when the hotel sponsored a major production at the Maddermarket two years ago. Maddermarket artistic director Clare Goddard devised a complex plot involving four murders and worked with a 26-strong cast of actors and actresses who infiltrated the hotel to play out the drama, as unknowing guests became would-be sleuths.
Dunston Hall spokeswoman Benita Millward said the event had been fully booked within a few days of being advertised, and had proved a great success. “We are keen to back local businesses and the arts locally, and this kind of partnership with the Maddermarket can bring big benefits on both sides”, said Ms Millward. “We were pleased to offer our guests something a little bit different, and hope to work on further creative, fun projects with the Maddermarket in future”.
Clare Goddard said the Maddermarket was always keen to forge closer links with the local business community. “Almost a year of planning went into this event”, she said. “We wanted to create a weekend that was unlike any other guests might have experienced before”.
