The Backstory

By now you've got used to characters in the play. I'll just give a quick rundown, if only to get them clear in my own head :0)

They are, in order of appearance....

Lady Amelia Kensington, aged 40, widow and occupant of a manor house somewhere in County Louth—or even *gasp* County Cavan LOL.

Lady Violet, 38, is Amelia's best friend and confidante. She's been living in Kensington Hall since the death of her twin sister, Elora.

Millie, 18, is Amelia's live-in maidservant. She's unhappy with her situation and seems to resent her employer.

Robyn, 27, is team leader of Paranormal Investigation Guys (PIG). She and her associates have been called in by Lady Violet, who's told them of ghostly occurrences that have been plaguing Kensington Manor for some time.

Krystal, 25, is a member of the PIG team. She's also a medium or psychic in her own right. She's attuned to invisible forces.

Brad, 23, is a member of the PIG team. He's more familiar than the others with the technical wizardry used to detect and record the presence of paranormal entities.

Detective-Sergeant Mick Grady, 30, is a close friend of Millie. As a uniformed sergeant he investigated Lady Elora's death but found no evidence of foul play. He's also acquainted with the work of PIG—they were called in to help with one or two Garda cases—and doesn't have a high opinion of them.

Lady Elora was Violet's twin sister.

Sir Geoffrey Kensington was Amelia's husband. He had an affair with Lady Elora.

What went before....

When the curtain rises, there are three people left at Kensington Hall. They are Lady Amelia, Lady Violet and Millie. To understand the play, we need to know the backstory. Here it is, point by point.

1. Sir Geoffrey Kensington, Amelia's husband, has a love-affair with Lady Elora, a pretty neighbour.

2. Millie discovers the affair. She blackmails Sir Geoffrey, demanding money. She threatens to tell Amelia.

3. Before Millie can get her money, Amelia returns unexpectedly from a trip abroad. She finds her unfaithful husband Geoffrey in a compromising situation with Elora. They're unaware that she's found them out.

4. Amelia lays her plans. Geoffrey takes medication for a weak heart. Amelia ups his dosage and he dies of a heart attack. Nobody suspects foul play.

5. Millie says nothing to Amelia. Her plan to blackmail Geoffrey has backfired. She despises Amelia but bides her time. She believes that the future holds another way of getting her hands on some of the Kensington money.

6. Four months after Geoffrey's death, Amelia pushes Lady Elora down the stairs at Kensington Manor. She dies. The death has all the appearances of an accident.

7. The police are called in. The investigation team is led by Sergeant Mick Grady. He declares Lady Elora's death to be an accident. By this time, Lady Violet has called in the decorators. She's saddened by all traces of her dead sister and wants the place renovated. She moves in with Lady Amelia.

8. Soon after, strange events begin to occur at Kensington Manor. Vases and other objects are smashed. There are rappings and unexplained creaks and groans in the middle of the night.

9. Lady Violet suspects that it's the ghost of her dead sister Elora. She calls in PIG to investigate.

10. At the same time, Millie suspects that Amelia murdered Elora. She calls in Mick Grady, now a detective-sergeant. His visit almost coincides with the arrival of the PIG team....