Alright, so I'm writing this script for a dinner theatre and am completely lost. Characters: Lars Van Rooijen Aletta Van Rooijen - Lars Wife Casper Van Rooijen - Lars & Aletta's son Daphny Van Rooijen - Lars & Aletta's Daughter Dirk Van Rooijen - Out casted son Sebastiaan - Casper's Friend Jan - Daphny's Boyfriend Nico - Detective Hendrika, Bas, Igor - Main servants It starts with the main characters greeting guests and making small talk. The man of the house, Lars, is not there when guests arrive and his wife Aletta gives a lousy explanation for where he is. She gets a note shortly after the guests arrive from "the murderer" informing her that her husband is dead and if she doesn't play it cool her family will be joining him. They begin dinner and a scream is heard, a servant informs Aletta that a maid had just been scared by a spider and to disregard the scream. Aletta suddenly becomes very awkward and excuses herself from the guests, returning a moment later with traces of blood on her attire. As the night progresses her outcast son Dirk barges in on the dinner party causing a rude interuption. What I would like to do is make the characters slowly keep vanishing and I would like the audience to believe Dirk is responsible for the murders. Nico the detective must be called in to "solve the mystery" at one point. There will be tension between Dirk and Jan and I want it to appear that Dirk killed him first. Any suggestions on how to achieve these goals? Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.
Your story. You should come up with your own ideas. Trust yoiur imagination. If some of the ideas seem weak after you have written them out, replace them. But not before you've wrung all you can out of them.
ditto that... however, i can't see why the woman rejoining the table with blood evident on her clothing would be overlooked or ignored by all the other guests...
My best advice is to use reasonable doubt to your advantage. Whenever something happens or is going to happen, give Dirk an excuse to be on his own and do this constantly. Maybe he's doing drugs or something else, it doesn't matter. You just need to find a reason for him to be alone and make him defensive when he's questioned about it.
And whoever the real culprit is, shroud him in light. He must have a strong alibi that's supported by everyone else, at all times. He must have a good character. He must be trusted by Nico(your characters think how your detectives think). His motive for being the culprit must be hinted at, but NEVER directly mentioned. His opportunity for being the culprit must be obscure/clever. He must be a perfect actor.
