Some couples like to go out for dinner, others like a romantic carriage ride, Julia and Matthew Perry get a charge out of trying to kill one another.That is the plot behind the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society’s (BMDS) latest production, ‘A Little Murder Never Hurt Anyone’. The play is written by Ron Bernas and directed by Janice Howell.“When I read this play, I just liked it,” said Ms Howell. “I like old movies such as ones with Cary Grant or Katherine Hepburn. This play just had that ring for me, and it did for the BMDS drama committee as well.”The play was originally written for modern times, but Ms Howell changed the time period to the 1940s.“There are murders in the play and in this day and age we have things like DNA and crime scene investigation (CSI) there is no mention of that in the play. Matthew just says, ‘no-one will know that I have killed my wife’. To make it more believable, it needed to be back in the day. It is set in the United States, before they entered the war.”Ms Howell said the play would be visually beautiful with lots of lovely music and gorgeous costumes. They have tried to keep everything as authentic as possible, down to the books the characters are reading.“We have tried so hard to make it authentic that we have tweaked the dialogue a little,” she said. “For example, in the script it talks about videos and we changed that to books. If you come on opening night dressed as though it is the 40s you get a free glass of champagne. I have a dress I bought online.”Many of the costumes were found in BMDS’ own wardrobe or bought in vintage stores in California by BMDS member Barbara Jones.“It was really important to me that it looked right,” said Ms Howell. “The Perrys are supposed to be rich. Sometimes they are wearing funeral clothes, other times it is a halloween party and another time it is New Year’s Eve. We try for as much realism as we can, but at the end of the day, it is a comedy.”She said having it set in the 1940s meant that many things had to be explained to Izabella Arnold, the 17-year-old who plays “Bunny” and 19-year-old Malachi Simmons, who plays her fiance, Donald.“It has been a struggle though with Izabella and Malachi,” said Ms Howell with a laugh. “The rest of us are of an age where we are in our 50s and 60s. When we use a reference, we have to explain everything to the youngsters. It has become fun. We say something and we all get it, and they are still going, what…”The cast also includes Kelvin Hastings-Smith as Matthew Perry, Carol Burch as Julia Perry, Adam Gauntlett as Buttram and Stephen Notman as Plutnik.Miss Arnold said she had been in several plays, but this one was different because of the small cast.“Everything is so fast,” she said. “And I am working with adults and Malachi who is more or less an adult.”She made her debut with BMDS a few years ago when she took the lead in ‘The Railway Children’. She and Mr Simmons were recently both in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society production of ‘Animal Farm’.“The first lead role I ever had was Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” said Mr Simmons. “It was a school play we did at St George’s Preparatory School. We didn’t have a drama department at all. It was a drama summer camp. So I guess that was what got me into it.”Miss Arnold hopes to audition for various theatre schools next January. Mr Simmons is trying to earn the funds needed to study drama next year at Edgehill University in England.The play runs May 16 to 21 at 8pm. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Daylesford Theatre box office or www.bmds.bm. For more information telephone 292-048.