THE Phoenix Theatre has just clinched top honours for their stellar performances in 2023.

At the West Midlands National Operatic and Dramatic Association’s awards ceremony, the Ross-on-Wye based Phoenix Theatre’s production of 'Murder in Company', won Best Drama, while the group’s summer concert 'Anything Goes was awarded the Best Concert.

They also received a nomination for Best Musical for 'Venice Revisited', a new musical based on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice written by the late Richard Elgood with music by Richard Watson, a longstanding member and resident accompanist at The Phoenix.

Despite narrowly missing out on the win, a spokeswoman for the group said that being nominated and recognised for their contribution to the arts, especially for a new musical, was a great achievement.

The Phoenix Company brought to life a cleverly written dark comedy, 'Murder in Company', which was directed by Renee Field, in which almost everyone could have been the murderer. 'Anything Goes’, produced by musical director Mary Brigg, saw the 21 singers change costumes to provide a flavour of the music being performed.

The award-winning Phoenix Theatre Company will return later this month with their production of Agatha Christie's 'The Unexpected Guest'.

Set in the 1950s, the action of the play takes place in Richard Warwick’s study in the family home based in South Wales.

Lost in the fog, a stranger seeks refuge in a nearby house only to find a man shot dead and his wife standing over him with a smoking gun. But the woman’s dazed confession is anything but convincing and the unexpected guest decides to help. Remarkably, the police clues point to a man who died two years previously but as the ghosts of a past wrong begin to emerge, a tangled web of lies reveals family secrets and chilling motives, where the real murderer turns out to be the greatest mystery of all.

The Unexpected Guest runs from Saturday May 18 to Saturday, May 25. Tickets, priced at £12, can be purchased from the box office at Rossiter Books (01989 564464) or online at phoenix-theatre.org.uk.