Flip the Switch Media, April 2012
Glenn Hudson's comedy drama centred around the exploits of Detective
Les Jason (Scott Pouton), who believes himself to be involved in a Chicago film noir circa 1949, but actually works
for the Durham Police Force in the United Kingdom in 2012. He has all the mannerisms of a Marlowesque figure - a cynical,
detached personality, a tendency to drown his sorrows in drink, and a penchant for narrating the story in monologue form.
The only problem is that his fellow-officers are witness to everything he says and does, and for the most part find
him extremely irritating. Rookie officer Alex Hardy (Brian Beverage) has the doubtful responsibility of working as Jason's
partner in an investigation of a mysterious serial killer known as The Musician, who murders his victims with musical instruments.
A Case of Music to Die For operates on two comic levels: first, it is well
aware of the outmoded conventions of the American detective novel, in which private investigators act on their own initiative.
Jason completely ignores the processes associated with contemporary police investigation; he would rather beat doors down,
grab suspects by the scruff of the neck and ask questions later. Secondly, A Case of Music to Die For is well aware
of the artificiality of the detective novel: Jason deliberately adopts a false (and very poor) American accent, rather than
speaking in his native Durham tones. At the end of the drama, Jason and Hardy argue with one another about who should read
the credits.
An amusing half-hour, performed by an enthusiastic cast of voice actors, A Case
of Music to Die For is the debut production of Flip the Switch Media, a new company. I look forward to hearing more of
their output in due course.
