Not all is as it seems in Katikati murder mystery

Everyone is a suspect in Katikati Theatre's Abbeyfield Antics. From left is Julie Thomas, Francis Young and Di Logan. Photos / Supplied

Katikati Theatre's latest murder mystery is so mysterious, even the actors don't know who the killer is.

Until just prior to curtain call, of course.

The theatre group's dream writing team and have come up with a classic whodunnit murder mystery, Abbeyfield Antics, as a fundraiser for Abbeyfield House.

''It's more of a spontaneous, ab-libbing situation, a bit like theatre sports,'' says one of the writers Di Logan. ''I like to keep things fresh so it's a surprise ... even the actors won't know who the murderer is until the night of the murderer.''

And the murderer will change every night of the play.

The detective and policeman played by John Logan on the case.

A small cast will play classic 1920s characters — will one villain lurking — in the classic murder mystery.

The audience has to guess who the murderer is, how it was done and why. So there's a bit of audience interaction, Di says, and even the pre-show mix and mingle may hold clues so guests should be keeping their eyes open.

The cast are Robert Wyatt, Julie Thomas, Barry Magowan, Di, Hilary Jacobs and Francis Young.

Di, Julie and Francis are the writers but in this case, ''there's no real script as such, it's more of a guide'', Di says.

The characters are Francis as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, Barry as antiques dealer Abel Arbuthnot, Hilary plays real estate agent Abby Abernathy, brother and sister are Robert as Bertie Beamish and Julie as Begonia Beamish and Di is Abigail Abercrombie.

Guests are encouraged to dress up in 1920-1930s garb.

The details:
What: Abbeyfield Antics
Where: The Arts Junction
When: August 10, 17 and 24
Tickets from The Arts Junction information desk from August 1