Little Theatre
17th July 2023
Presented the Progressive Players
Directed by Valerie Neal and Kathryn Weston
Based on the book by Peter James
Adapted for stage by Shaun McKenna
Is there such a thing as the perfect murder? To be able to get rid of the person who stands in the way of your happiness and not get caught? Victor thinks there is; he thinks he has worked it all out. A disciple of the great detectives, especially Sherlock Holmes the greatest of them all, Victor has come up with the best, most perfect plan to murder his wife. There will be no evidence of foul play, and he and his lover will live happily ever after.
Add into this mix a psychic prostitute (the aforementioned lover), a rookie detective eager to solve his first case and maybe make a name for himself, and an unhappy wife with plans of her own, and what you get a is a dark comedy and a perfect murder (or two!) that doesn't quite go to plan.
Victor Smiley and his wife Joan bicker their way through the first act - their once happy marriage now a sham. Victor bored with life at work and home, has grown sour and argumentative. Played by Alex Russell, Victor is an obnoxious bully at home, unadventurous, uncaring and scathing in his insults to his wife, he finds fault in everything she does. To escape the monotony of his home life he has taken up with a prostitute Kamilla. She is Croatian, young, beautiful, exotic - everything his wife is not. With Kamilla he is a different man. He plans to save her (and himself) by murdering Joan so that the two of them can run off together and start a new life in the sun. The plot is hatched, and it seems perfect.
Joan (Zoe Slade), however, has plans of her own. She has a make-over, takes up charity work and rediscovers her love for life with Don, a taxi driver and charity worker who is similarly dissatisfied with his life.
It all begins to come together....and fall apart, as the two couples put their plans into action.
The stage is set with three areas - the Smiley's living room and kitchen, their bedroom, and Kamilla's apartment. The set is cleverly built include all three areas on stage, and lighting is used throughout to highlight each area as the action moves from room to room. This works really well and is a credit to the directors and the set builders skills!
The cast performances are convincing - we can easily believe that the Smiley's (was there ever a more unfitting name for a couple?) are capable of plotting to murder each other, our feelings towards them swing between sympathy and dislike as true characters are revealed. Kamilla and Don, their respective lovers, are much more sympathetic characters and for me these two were the stars of the show. Suzanne Jennings is utterly convincing as the agonised psychic, while Donny Stones brings a blend of comedy and empathy to the role of the quirky, happy-go-lucky Don. and throughout the play Jack Stuart brings a sense of calm as the dogged and dedicated detective constable Roy Grace.
There were a few first night nerves and the prompter's services were needed a couple of times, but this didn't detract from the suspense - there were plenty of ooohs and aahs and gasps from the audience. Overall this was an enjoyable, entertaining and surprising production, and only likely to improve as the players settle into their live performances through the week.
The world, it seems, is full of unhappy people - everyone it seems is plotting a perfect murder - but can any of them pull one off? Come along to the Little Theatre this week to see if it is possible to murder and get away with it. You might be surprised!
Tickets available from the box office on 0191 4781499 - book in advance to be sure not to miss out!
Denise Sparrowhawk
No comments:
Post a Comment