Murder in Casablanca

10 - 12 Players

Brie, The Bullet & The Black Cat

October 1942. Across Europe and Africa, the war is turning against Hitler. At Stalingrad, despite enduring months of the worst fighting ever seen, Russian soldiers and civilians are starting to push the German army back from its positions; in North Africa, Montgomery has just launched his assault on Rommel's troops at el Alamein; and in East Africa, British forces have seized control of the strategically vital ports of Madagascar. In the words of Winston Churchill: 'It is not the end; it is not even the beginning of the end; but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.'

Meanwhile France has been divided in two - Paris and the north is occupied by the Germans, whilst the south and the colonies are nominally independent under the puppet government in Vichy. Casablanca falls under Vichy control. Despite the presence of German troops, it is still governed by the French civilian authorities. It too has seen fighting, but nothing much worse than the kind of bar-room brawl that helps soldiers of all nations relax when off-duty.

America has entered the War, but is still officially at peace with Vichy France. Diplomatic relations between the two governments are tense and will be broken off next month, shortly before US forces land at Casablanca to take the city for the Allies - for now, however, American civilians are safe in Casablanca. The British, on the other hand, are very clearly the enemy.

You are here this evening at the official residence of the Deputy Mayor of Casablanca, Monsieur Le Grandbutte, for a dinner where the guest of honour was to have been France's greatest living mime artist, The Black Cat. But France's greatest living mime artist is no longer living. He has been murdered. And you are one of the suspects.

The suspects are:

Hughes Le Grandbutte - You are the Deputy-Mayor of Casablanca, a loyal bureaucratic servant of the Vichy administration. You are the epitome of solid respectability.
Costume Suggestion - Generously proportioned dinner jacket with a medal ribbon, cummerbund and greasy hair (optional).

Edith Le Grandbutte - You are married - not altogether happily - to Hughes. You used to be a dancer on the Parisian stage, and you still clearly yearn for the glamous of your former life.
Costume Suggestion - Chic, elegant - silk dress, shapely decolletage, emerald jewellery.

Nicole Le Grandbutte - 18-year-old daughter of Hughes and Edith. You also would rather be in Paris than Casablanca. You don't approve of your father working with the Germans.
Costume Suggestion - Flimsy flouncy dress, slightly too short.

Otto von Pinkelwurst - You are an officer of the Gestapo, fanatical and quite possibly mad. You don't understand why you're here in Africa instead of in a senior staff port in Berlin.
Costume Suggestion - Long black leather overcoat, boots, monocle.

Kirk Ramson II - You are an American in your late-30s, a doomed romantic hero, nursing a broken heart and a bottle of whiskey. You run Kirk's African Cafe in downtown Casablanca.
Costume Suggestion - Suave, elegant and slightly battered - white dinner jacket, bow tie.

Countess Bogov - You are a Russian artistocrat in exile, glamourous and mysterious. You are a passionate anti-communist and therefore have sympathies with the Germans.
Costume Suggestion - Evening dress, furs and lots of shiny jewellry.

Monsieur Oily-Carte - You are the booking agent for Le Moulin Blue nightclub in Paris. Educated in England, you are sophisticated and have impeccable manners.
Costume Suggestion - Perfect evening dress, cufflinks slightly too ostentatious.

Pierre Paysanski - You're a 24-year-old poet and artist, of mixed French and Russian parentage. You are of course an anti-Facist, but you're not fighting because you're got a bad leg.
Costume Suggestion - Shabby velvet jacket, plain cloth cap, ill-fitting trousers.

Cherie Boot - You're a Frenchwoman in your mid-20s. You are a husky-voiced cabaret singer - sultry, decadent and exotic, almost androgynous.
Costume Suggestion - Dark suit, with a masculine cut.

Ingrid Pith - You are a Danish art-dealer, specializing in finding paintings from all over occupied Europe. You are very busty and flirtatious.
Costume Suggestion - Very low-cut evening dress with a slit skirt.

Extra guests include: (non-suspects)

Seamus O'Hack - you are a dissolute Irish journalist, looking for the one big story that will give you a chance to get to the centre of the action. Unfortunately you're more interested in drinking than writing.
Costume Suggestion - Shabby day-suit, showing signs of alcohol spillage and cigarette ash.

Pia Fedora - You are a Spanish cabaret star, and the lover of The Black Cat. You are fiery, passionate and bereaved.
Costume Suggestion - Big dress with lots of frills.