From January 19^th through the 21^st, Gaffney High School Advanced Drama successfully completed their run of The Games Afoot – a hilarious Sherlock Holmes-esque murder mystery. The eight students of the Advanced Drama class displayed their broad range of talent as they directed, designed, produced, and starred in the show. Their teacher, Vanessa Miles, put the show’s success entirely in the student’s hands, and they delivered with an excellent run.

The Games Afoot follows William Gillette (Taji Mayberry) and his houseguests through a series of murders and relationship antics. Mayberry, who also co-directed and designed the lights and sound, is outstanding in the role as he seamlessly transitions between reciting Shakespeare and tracking down a killer while also managing to find chemistry with every other actor on stage. Scenes between Gillette and best friend Felix (Matthew Goins) are especially enjoyable. Goins, who helped with set design, is consistently funny as he runs between the women in the house and finds himself in sticky situations while delivering witty lines along the way. Mayberry and Goins display chemistry as the two execute hilarious physical comedy while struggling to hide the body of the bold and brash theatre critic Daria Chase (Lyric Dukes). Dukes, who helped design the costumes, is a showstopper as she captivates the audience from the moment she steps onto the stage until the show’s end.

Other house guests include Felix’s witty, strong, and independent wife Madge (Bre Surratt, co-director) who hilariously bickers and fights with her cheating husband, and the newly married couple, Aggie and Simon (Alyssa Hill, prop design and Michael Martin) who are eventually proven to be murderers with strange ulterior motives that don’t include each other. These murders are brought to justice through Inspector Goring (Kassidy Perry – costume design); Perry portrays the slightly odd but extremely funny detective so well that she leaves the audience upset that she was only in the second act. Another notable performance comes from Bria Wise portraying Gillette’s sassy and insane mother, Martha.

Overall, the cast and crew do an amazing job embracing the cheesy and over the top nature of the show while also managing to keep things unpredictable and keeping the audience on their toes. There is no doubt that there is an incredible amount of talent within the drama program at Gaffney High School, and The Games Afoot has proven that there isn’t a thing they can’t do. Auditions for the next production, Beauty and the Beast, will take place February 6^th though the 9^th. Don’t miss it!