A dazed man found wandering the streets of Leicester, England, at 4 a.m. becomes police Insp. Munroe’s special project.
But the harder Munroe tries to solve the mystery of the man’s identity, the more the police officer’s blood pressure rises and his head starts to spin.
The inspector — a central character in the next Central Alberta Theatre comedy, Forget-Me-Knot, by David Tristram — initially suspects the amnesiac with the bruised head is Robert Zeinfeld, who was last seen heading to Blackpool on a business trip.
But this theory blows up in Munroe’s face when the haughty and imperious Mrs. Zeinfeld first denies the man is her husband, then concedes he might be.
The increasingly agitated inspector wonders whether Mrs. Zeinfeld is lying — but for what reason would she conceal the truth?
“Is he her husband or is she trying to get rid of him?” said the show’s director, Erna Soderberg, who loves all the plot twists in this comedy that opens on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Black Knight Inn dinner theatre.
Like all police officers, Munroe has met more than his share of liars, said Soderberg. Since he hears only contradictory information from the man’s possible wife and his possible mistress, the inspector begins wondering if the wandering man has lost his memory at all.
Maybe it’s an elaborate hoax, said Soderberg, who admitted all the plot turns in this play left her head spinning, too.
Like the hapless Munroe, the audience will also be wondering whether the man really is Zeinfeld, “If not, then who the heck is he?” said Soderberg.
While Forget-Me-Knot isn’t a door-slamming farce, it has laugh-a-minute dialogue, added Soderberg. “It’s dry, because it’s British, and it’s witty. There are plenty of guffaw moments that made me laugh out loud.”
Soderberg also had a blast working with the cast of four, including CAT veteran Dennis O’Brien as the mystery man and Bob Greig as Insp. Munroe. She believes Forget-Me-Knot will be a crowd pleaser.
“It’ll keep audiences guessing, but also laughing so hard because of the back-and-forth dialogue. It’ll be fun to watch.”
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com