STAC’s latest offering is a bit like a combination of all the best bits of Sunday viewing from the early 90s - and I mean this in a good way.

Murdered to Death combines the traditional murder mystery - think Agatha Christie - and a good, old fashioned sitcom - Terry and June, for example - meaning the audience at the Swan Theatre were both gripped and giggling throughout.

Which was a nice surprise, because I am always a little bit worried when reading the word “spoof” or “farce” on a programme - two words, I’ve found, which generally mean “not very funny at all”.

But the combination of Peter Gordon’s tight script - the first play in his Inspector Pratt trilogy, the final instalment you may have caught when Death by Fatal Murder came to Malvern Theatres in July - and some funny performances made it a play worth seeing.

In particular, Oliver Goldfinch’s Colonel Craddock stood out - he had certainly mastered the art of a quick aside and perfectly encapsulated the old English gentleman.

But, while the jokes were good, it seems the physical comedy was what really got the audience laughing - and so credit must be given to both Frank Welbourne (the inebriated Bunting) and Michael King (the exasperated Constable Thompkins).

But my personal favourite was Elizabeth Whitehouse, whose send up of Miss Marple as Miss Joan Maple made me smile more than once.

- The Swan Theatre Amateur Company’s production of Murdered to Death is on until Saturday, October 1.