YOUNGSTERS at Much Marcle Primary have been time-travelling back to the jazz age to help solve a whodunnit worthy of the queen of crime herself, Agatha Christie.

In fact, the famous author herself will be a character for the school’s summer production, Mystery at Magpie Manor.

Based on a book and CD by Mary Green and Julie Stanley, the yarn is set in the 1920s and is a plot “steeped in legend and intrigue”.

Magpie Manor is close falling down and Lord and Lady Pica must take drastic action to save their crumbling stately home.

In a plot worthy of Christie herself, the Pica clan gather, together with the the bank manager and his bumbling assistants.

Can a plan be formed to to sell off the family silver, and will that save the day?

But as the guests arrive for the auction ball, shenanigans are already taking place.

A family heirloom has vanished - and apparently there’s a thief at large.

Inspector Spectre is on the case, helped by none other than Agatha Christie, but everyone has a motive to misbehave: from the maid in the kitchen to the tradesmen at the door, and that’s not to mention Cousin Rupert and his grasping American girlfriend.

The question is, will the thief be caught and can Magpie Manor be saved, or will the auction fail, leaving it to crumble as a ruin?

The Much Marcle youngsters have been rehearsing hard for weeks, and this week they got to try on their period costumes, from the age of flapper girls and the Charleston.

As well as mystery, the show also contain eight songs, in keeping with the age, to get toes tapping.