Usually, the professional suicide merchant in Eric Chappell’s ‘Natural Causes’ is portrayed as a man and named Vincent, but in Trinity Theatre’s production of the play they were portrayed as a woman and her first name was Carole. As was her surname. Or was it neither? You probably had to be there.

Amanda Robertson took on the role of the infamous death merchant, freshly arrived from a company named Exodus, a purveyor of a quick, painless death with just some chilly feet and a little light paralysis before the final breath. She gave a sound performance with a next-door-neighbourly charm that made this a different portrayal to what audiences are perhaps used to seeing, which made some of the twists and turns along the way feel even more unexpected.

Her client? One Walter Bryce, played by Martyn Stanley, a former literature professor…except it isn’t he who wants to take the poison. He is having a fling with his secretary and has ordered the poison for his wife!

Martyn’s performance had plenty of well-pitched hysteria, comic despair and great timing, and his first interaction with “Carole Carol” was particularly strong, as were his phone calls to hapless Samaritans operative Withers, played with great doe-eyed optimism by Martin Woolven, a lovely foil to Carole’s more matter-of-fact nature.

Rebecca Lennon cut a villainous figure as Walter’s secretary, Angie, the other party to Walter’s affair, and the cast was completed by Carolyn Ferguson, who played Celia Bryce. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Carolyn, Rebecca and Martyn in the final scenes, with all three putting in solid turns, and found myself questioning who in fact I was really rooting for to come out on top.

Deserving of a mention, too, is a silent cast member: the rubber plant. I won’t spoil it, but there was a ripple of realisation and subsequent laughter from the audience every single time the curtains opened, without fail.

Opening night nerves may have played a part in the dropped lines and resulting prompts throughout, which did unfortunately break the landing of a number of jokes, but otherwise the show flowed well and the humour hit the mark with the audience, verging at times on farcical and with evident tweaks to the script and characters by director Dinah Bowman to modernise proceedings.

The set, too, was excellent, particularly the beautifully-painted garden scene visible at the rear of the stage; Sylvia Whalley, the set designer and decorator, should be congratulated for that gorgeous piece of artwork, and indeed for the whole set.

It is difficult to say too much without spoiling the plot – the surprises along the way are part of the fun, and integral to the humour – but this is an easy-watching play that trots along nicely, and there’s still time to enjoy it for yourself this week on April 3rd, 4th and 5th at Trinity Theatre in Cowes. Tickets are £10 and available from www.caods.org.uk.

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Reviewed by Emily Scotcher