Dial M For Murder - Review - People's Theatre

Dial M For Murder
People's Theatre
21st Jan 2020

To launch the new season the People's Theatre have swapped their usual post Christmas Agatha Christie for the equally suspenseful Dial M For Murder by Frederick Knott.
Tony Wendice married his wife Margot for her money. Margot, having belatedly discovered that marriage to a tennis superstar is not all she had dreamed it would be, has an affair with crime writer Max. When Tony discovers the affair he plots the perfect murder - gaining his freedom from a loveless marriage but keeping Margot's money.

In Frederick Knott's play the audience are in on the plot almost from the start. We learn straight away about the short-lived affair. And we know that Margot believes her husband knows nothing about it. We learn that she has gone to great pains to ensure that he did not find out - even so far as paying money to a blackmailer. But so many things don't seem to add up. Is everything quite as the audience is being led to believe - or is there more to this tale? Tony Wendice is a man used to having his own way. And he is a man used to paying whatever it takes for something he wants. He is single-minded, dangerous, calculating, and observant - perhaps obsessively so.

This suspense is played out entirely in the living room of the Wendice's ground floor flat in London. A simple set - sofa, desk, drinks cabinet...three doors - one to the bedroom and kitchen, one to the hall and stairs, and French windows to the garden. all three doors will play an important roll in the development of the plot. The lighting is sinister and dramatic and used to great effect with blood red backlighting from the hall casts shadows across as characters enter and leave the flat. Adding to the atmosphere is the quietly malevolent score, specially commissioned, by James Jones.

The characters are all very different, Alison Carr plays Margot, the dutiful wife who is clearly intimidated by her husband, yet we see a lighter, more carefree side to her character when she is with Max. Sean Burnside is chilling in the role of Tony Wendice, switching from affable host to scheming murderer in the flick of a red spotlight switch. Robbie Close is the cheerful, but lovelorn Max Halliday, who appears easy going but has the presence of mind to see through Tony and is loyal to Margot to the end. I couldn't help but feel she didn't quite deserve him!
Tony Sehgal plays Lesgate (or Swan, or is it Wilson?), the hapless opportunist ex-con, who falls victim - in more ways than one - to Wendice's plotting. And finally there is Inspector Hubbard. The down to earth detective who unravels the mystery. Brilliantly cast in the role, Emma Weetch bring a touch of humour like a breath of fresh air, puncturing the tension -  imagine a female Columbo, with more style and a London accent and you just about have her. As much as the music and lighting created the atmosphere and ramped up the suspense, she burst it and brought us back down to earth. She was the star of the show for me.

Dial M for Murder is a well directed, well staged production and a great start to the Spring season!
It plays until Saturday 25th January.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Dial M for Murder - Review - Royalty Theatre

Dial M for Murder 
Royalty Theatre
18th Mar 2019

Tony Wendice (James Errington), former tennis player, discovers his wife, Sheila (Abbi Laidlar), has been having an affair. Having married her for her money, he plots the perfect murder to rid himself of an unfaithful wife but still keep her money. He "persuades" an old school housemate (Lee Wilkins) with a chequered past,  to execute the plan, and even enlists his wife's former lover Max (Alex Goodchild) to act - unknowingly - as his alibi. However, despite his careful planning not everything goes as expected and things soon begin to unravel. He manages to turn the situation back to his advantage but has not bargained on the tenacity of Max, or the investigating officer Inspector Hubbard (John Appleton).

This is a dialogue heavy play, with the history of the characters' relationships having to be explained so that the audience understands their current situation. It is a play of words rather than action - suspense builds as the audience learns each character's story and viewpoint. Sheila believes her once faltering marriage is now safe and stable; Max still loves Shelia despite her loyalty to Tony; Tony is devious, deceptive, self absorbed and unforgiving. James Errington plays the part with skill - wearing a mask of friendly civility which slips to reveal his cold, sneering true self the minute he is not being observed (the audience almost booed, but we contented ourselves with a sharp intake of breath and a collective "oooh!").

The tension is relieved with occasional touches of humour - Max wearing Tony's too small dinner jacket, Insp. Hubbard asking Shelia to hold off on her breakdown for a few minutes...

Direction from Billy Towers and Olivia Bowern allows the actors to give the audience glimpses of the true situation while their characters remain unaware, and makes the most of the nuances of the script. 

Lighting and sound are sharp - with excellent use of music appropriate to the period, both before and during the play. There were a couple of prop malfunctions on the night, and one or two stumbled lines - but the manner in which cast and technical team cope with these is always a good measure of  a production and they were covered skilfully,

with a degree of aplomb and a smattering of good humour. I'm sure first night nerves will calm as the week progresses and performances will be smoother.

One downside was the rather laboured footsteps to the door - while there had to be the sound of approaching footsteps, it seems every character regardless of build, has the same heavy footed tread which detracted from the seriousness of the moment and tended to puncture some of the tension at a point where it ought to be taut. But this is a minor quibble in what is an entertaining, and on the whole suspenseful production - and it does have a nicely revealed twist at the end and sharp curtain drop finish. 

Strong performances from the cast - in particular James Errington and Alex Goodchild - and excellent technical support make this well worth seeing. It plays until Sat 23rd March. Tickets can be booked in advance via the website or purchased on the door. 

Denise Sparrowhawk 

Preview - Mary Mary - Royalty Theatre

ROYALTY THEATRE BEGIN 2019 WITH JACK THE RIPPER-THEMED MARY MARY.

The Royalty Theatre will begin 2019 with the premier of local writer Billy Tower’s Mary Mary.

The play is based around the life of Mary Kelly, considered by many to be the fifth and final victim of Whitechapel killer Jack the Ripper.    Little is known of Mary Kelly’s life before she came to reside in Whitechapel – making her by far the most mysterious of the serial killer’s alleged victims.

Director Abbi Laidler says: “It is a fictional account of factual events and I try to explore how those events had an impact on the Whitechapel community and Mary Kelly in particular. The victims have been reduced to names in police files, but these women had lives that are often overlooked in the search for the killer. I am not interested in naming the killer in this play, I am using Mary to focus on how these events affected her as an individual.  I really hope you enjoy this show written by the talented Billy Towers.”

The play, which runs from 23^rd to 26^th January, stars Nikki Slack as Mary and Andrew Barella as Joseph Barnett.  Also appearing are Helen Bowie and Alex Goodchild.

Being performed in the Royalty’s studio theatre, which last year saw performances of Five Kinds of Silence, Temple and new piece Jesu Mercy, all tickets are £6.50 and are strictly limited to 60 per evening.

Over the years I have been reviewing I have come to relish the intimacy and immediacy  of a studio production. Performed in a small space these productions can have a greater impact on the audience members than plays performed in the larger auditorium.  The close proximity of the audience to the stage - often in the round - creates a sense of involvement and increases the intensity of the experience. There is no where to hide when emotions begin to run high. 

 Often studio productions are plays by established writers which  explore difficult themes, or they may be new works by writers testing their wings. Mary Mary is a combination of a new work by a local writer, and an exploration of a difficult subject. It sounds fascinating and I am looking forward to experiencing it. 

Tickets can be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366 and I recommend purchasing in advance to avoid disappointment - Friday and Saturday are already sold out. 

DS

Season Preview - Royalty Theatre

ROYALTY THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2018/19 SEASON 

The Royalty Theatre have announced the programme for their 2018/19 season, and it is a strong programme with a great mix of plays which we are very much looking forward to!

They begin a packed season with classic comedy No Sex Please, We’re British. 

The farce by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott kicks off a season that theatre bosses believe has something for everyone.  It’s joined in the comedy stakes by May’s Barefoot in the Park, the film version of which starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

For fans of suspense drama, Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel will be performed in October and November, and the time-honoured favourite Dial M for Murder is the Royalty’s March offering.  Hobson’s Choice in February and Jane Austen’s Emma in June add to the drama.

The annual pantomime this year is Jack and The Beanstalk by local writer David Farn.

Once again, the studio is put to use for intimate small scale productions with the premier in  January of Billy Towers’ Mary, Mary, based on the life of Jack the Ripper victim Mary Kelly.  April’s studio production is John Godber and Jane Thornton’s Shakers (Re-stirred)

Thanks to the popularity of last year’s A Night at the Musicals, The Royalty are reprising this for two nights only on September 7^th and 8^th.

Visiting companies include Pink Floyd tribute act What the Floyd, appearing on 5^th October.  Sunderland Stages return to the Royalty with Red Ladder Theatre’s The Damned United, the story of Sunderland and Middlesbrough legend Brian Clough’s ill-fated 44 days at Leeds United, on 13^th and 14^th November.

Artistic Director Nikki Slack says, “We’re now raring to go for the 2018-19 season. We have a year packed with a range of diverse plays that will appeal to all. Recent media has been much focussed on equality and ‘Girl Power’ is certainly coming back with a bang! Our programme of plays this coming season shines the spotlight on our female talent from more female-centred plays to our female directors and technicians.”

Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre.  
Tickets for The Damned United are available from the Sunderland Stages website.

Go Back For Murder - Review - People's Theatre

Go Back for Murder
People's Theatre
16th Jan 2018

There's nothing like a bit of murder and suspicion to start the year off and The People's Theatre have it down to a fine art with the annual Agatha Christie mystery. This year they have chosen Go Back to Murder - in which the crime has been committed, and the suspect tried and sentenced 16 years earlier. But has the right person been convicted?

Carla le Marchant (Ri McArdle)  receives a letter on her 21st birthday, written by her mother just before she died. In the letter her mother Caroline Crale professes her innocence of the crime of which she was convicted. She did not murder Carla's father Amyas Crale. The contents of the letter are a shock to Carla and to her fiancé. His reaction - magnanimous, but perhaps insincere - prompts her to begin an investigation to prove her mother's innocence.

And so she meets with the six people who were there at the time of her father's death to try to piece together what happened, and solve the puzzle of her father's death and her mother's conviction. As she speaks to each one begins to piece together an impression of her parents' relationship with each other and their friends. Like a patchwork quilt, there are many threads and many little pieces that come together to make something.  Carla becomes more and more convinced of her mother's innocence and we, the audience, begin to see that the six people involved each had a motive for murder. But who had the opportunity, and why if she was not the guilty party did Caroline not put up more of  a fight in court?

This is a rather sedentary play, since there is no dramatic murder on stage, it relies on dialogue rather than action to progress the story. But there is also passion, jealousy, betrayal, love and loyalty played out within the words. A simple split set and clever spotlighting create atmosphere and build suspense.

The characters are diverse, and each one is played convincingly. Stand out performances for me come from Catherine Ellis as Angela Matthews, convincing as both the rebellious 14year old and the older, more cynical adult; Karen Elliot as the formidable Miss Williams and Gordon Mounsey as the rather prickly and supercilious Philip Blake.

By the end of Act One I had a good idea of who the true murderer might be...in Act Two I began to doubt. In true Christie style the finger of suspicion points at everyone as the play progresses - it seems I had fallen for one of the many red herrings! A testament to Christie's skill as a writer, and to the direction of Philip Bradley, we are misdirected and kept guessing to the very end.

Go Back for Murder plays until Sat 20th. Go see if you can do better than I did at solving the puzzle. I bet you can't!

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - Go Back For Murder - People's Theatre

The People's Theatre are set to start the New Year with the Queen of Crime Agatha Christie! Their January whodunnits always prove popular, and last year’s The Unexpected Guest delighted audiences with its gripping twists and turns. 

In GO BACK FOR MURDER, Carla le Merchant is determined to find out the truth about who murdered her father. It’ll keep you guessing until the end, and promises to be lots of fun along the way!

 
So who is in the frame for the murder of Amyas Crale? Only six people were present when he was poisoned. It must have been one of them.






Caroline Crale? The wife he cheated on, who was found guilty of poisoning him. However, in a letter from her prison deathbed she told her daughter Carla that she was innocent of the crime. Was she telling the truth?

Meredith Blake? An old friend of the family who harboured a secret passion. He was an amateur herbalist and distilled his own poisons. Did he administer the deadly hemlock?

Philip Blake? A confirmed bachelor and best friend of Amyas. He was once briefly in love with Caroline but she rejected him in favour of Amyas.  Did long-standing jealousies finally lead to revenge? 

Elsa Greer? The lover of Amyas and model for his final painting. They were having a passionate relationship - did that passion boil over into murder?

Warren? The 14-year old stepsister of Caroline Crale. She was jealous of Amyas’ relationship with her sister and was being sent away to school. Is that a motive for murder in a teenager’s mind?

Miss Williams? The governess to Angela who disapproved of Amyas’ affairs. She was strongly protective of Angela and Caroline. Could that make her a killer? 




PHOTOS: Paula Smart

LISTINGS INFORMATION –
Go Back For Murder by Agatha Christie
DATE:   Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 January 2018
TIME:   7.30pm
VENUE: People’s Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF
TICKETS:  £13.50 (Concessions £11)
BOX OFFICE:  0191 265 5020
WEBSITE:  www.peoplestheatre.co.uk

And Then There Were None - Review - Royalty Theatre

And Then There Were None

Royalty Theatre 
19th September 2017

The stage is set for Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" - as the house lights dim, the stage lights come up to reveal a drawing room, the furniture covered in dust sheets, curtains drawn across French windows. Two servants enter and begin to remove the sheets - Mr and Mrs Rogers (Lee Wilkins and Emma McLeary) are preparing for the arrival of house guests, they reveal that the hosts have been detained and that the first of the guests are due to arrive.
Fred Narracot (Ben Gettins), the local boatman, has delivered the supplies and is sent off to bring the guests across by boat. The house - Soldier House - is set on an island accessible only by boat, and with no telephone or other means of communication with the outside world. Eight guests are expected, they are all strangers to each other, their only connection that they have been invited to stay at the house by the hosts Mr and Mrs Owen, and that  each one has a secret from their past, a secret they would rather no-one else knew about. These secrets will have dire consequences for each guest and the Rogers.

Act One introduces the characters one by one, the glamorous Vera Claythorne (Helen Bowie) and the suave Philp Lombard (James Errington) arriving together, followed by the spoiled rich boy Anthony Marstsen (David Ford), the South African millionaire Mr Davis, alias William Blore, ex policeman (John Appleton), the eccentric General McKenzie (David Armstrong), self righteous Emily Brent (Christine Appleton), the superior Judge Lawrence Wargrave, and the very nervy Dr Armstrong (Chris Renney). They are a disparate group in both social standing and character, with no obvious connection and seemingly no idea why they have been brought together on the island. Each one has a different story as to how they were invited. As the act progresses their characters are revealed leading to the surprising climax of the act - an anonymous recording revealing each ones' secret, the accusations against them, and the death of the first victim. As the characters realise that one of the soldiers on the mantel is missing the lights go down silhouetting them against the windows of the drawing room, and the curtain falls on Act One. It is a dramatic end to the Act.

In Act Two the bodies begin to pile up as characters drop like flies. Suspicions rise, accusations fly and tempers flare as the horror of their situation dawns and one by one the characters fall.

The tension and suspense are nicely done. Seeming friendships and alliances are formed and lost as suspicion grows. Outbursts of anger and frustration hint at who the killer might be - perhaps Mr Rogers or Vera Claythorne? Or perhaps Dr Armstrong or Philip Lombard? Everyone is a suspect. The only certainty is that those who have already died cannot be the murderer.  Or can they?

There are some strong performances - particularly by Lee Wilkins, Helen Bowie, James Errington and Andrew Barella, though to be fair everyone in the cast gives a decent performance. Dramatic and timely use of sound and lighting enhance the tension throughout. The stage set is uncluttered and the costumes pleasingly understated (apart from the swaggering Philip Lombard - that blue suit is a killer!).  Billy Towers and Abbi Laidler direct with a deceptively light touch.

A solid opening for the Royalty's new season. If you have not read the book, this will keep you guessing - if not whodunit, then why and how?
And Then There Were None runs until Sat 23rd Sept.
Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - And Then There Were None - Royalty Theatre

ROYALTY THEATRE TO PRODUCE AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Helen Bowie  

(picture credit Royalty Theatre)

The Royalty Theatre will open their 2017/18 season with a production of the Agatha Christie hit And Then There Were None.

The mystery thriller by the world’s bestselling author (which was recently made into a BBC mini-series starring Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, and Aiden Turner) follows a group of strangers invited to stay at a house on a remote island.  Each is revealed to have a dark secret buried in their past – but when the guests begin to die one-by-one in mysterious circumstances, it becomes clear that the murderer may be one of them.

Director Billy Towers says, “And Then There Were None is a classic Agatha Christie thriller. Although first published as a novel in 1934, the passage of time has not dimmed its suspense, mystery or the brilliantly drawn characters which make for a great thriller. It’s a tremendous example of the thriller genre at its best, and one I can confidently call it a timeless classic.”

The play features a large cast, including Helen Bowie as Vera Claythorne, James Errington as Philip Lombard and Andrew Barella as Justice Lawrence Wargrave. 

And Then There Were None runs from 18^th to 23rd September.

Tickets can be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366.

Ten Times Two:The Eternal Courtship - Arts Centre Washington - Review

Ten Times Two

Arts Centre Washington
Fri 28th July


Written by Davis Belke
Presented by Washington Theatre Group
Produced by Angela Marshall
Directed by Danny Stones

This play has a strange but interesting premise; an immortal being - Ephraim (John Seymour) - lives only to wreak havoc in the human world, manipulating mankind into wars and conflicts. Ephraim has unexpectedly, and against the plan of the immortals, fallen in love.

He is observed (and manipulated himself in turn) by the other immortals. It is never made clear who or what these beings are, nor what their purpose is. All we know of them is what we can glean from The Host (Sarah Seymour), who orchestrates the events throughout the play. When asked at one point if he is a guardian angel, The Host replies "the very opposite". Perhaps these creatures are the Devil's angels? It is never made clear, only that they are omnipotent, and omnipresent, and malign.

The Host is curious as to how and why this Barmaid, Constance (Catriona Brannigan-Uren) should have affected Ephraim. He denies any attachment either on his side or hers, and so as 'an experiment' they enter into a wager: Ephraim must elicit a genuine declaration of love from Constance when he returns in the spring.

The Host is a dispassionate observer who reports back to unseen "bosses". He introduces Ephraim and sets the seen, apparently addressing the audience though it eventually becomes clear that it is not us, but the other immortal beings that he is conversing with. The audience hear only The Hosts comments, we do not hear their questions or comments in response to The Host. It is clear that there is some kind of plan in process, but none but these unseen immortals know what this is. The Host has some knowledge, but not all, he merely follows instruction. Ephraim himself is clearly unaware that he has been manipulated for centuries, perhaps he was once human, but over the many decades of his life the humanity has been stripped from him until he is reduced to the cold hearted creature who's only pleasure is in the creation of chaos and destruction.

The play pans spans six centuries, and has just three cast members. Ironically Constance is reborn each Century as a different person while the immortal Host and Ephraim remain constant throughout. Catriona Brannigan-Uran metamorphoses into each new character like a chameleon changing colour, from bubbly barmaid to pious nun to flirtatious flapper. She is a stark contrast to the androgynous, dispassionate Host played by Sarah Seymour. Casting a female in the role of The Host certainly adds something to this sinistrous character. She is a disturbing, but not entirely unsympathetic character. John Seymour comes into his own in the final scenes where his humanity has overtaken him. He is much more convincing as the immortal Being racked by human emotions than the cold-hearted Ephraim of the first scenes.

This is a play about fate, predestination, the nature of humanity, and deity, good and evil, and the potential to change one's nature, and one's destiny. This is illustrated by the symbolic chess set which sits on the table throughout the play. Occasionally The Host moves a piece, and at one point the table is knocked and several pieces are scattered. Billed as a romantic comedy, there is humour in it, but it is mostly overshadowed by the sinister nature of the otherworldly immortals and the sense that we are not masters of our own destiny. It is a strange mix of the historical and modern and it has an almost science fiction feel to it.

Ten Times Two is an interesting, thought-provoking and at times bemusing play (I am not convinced by the romantic comedy tag). This was my first time at a Washington Theatre Group production, I am impressed by the standard of acting, the slick sound and lighting and the friendly welcome. I will be back to see more by them.

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Unexpected Guest - The People's Theatre - Review

The Unexpected Guest
The People's Theatre
17th Jan 2017





Somewhere in the remote welsh countryside wreathed in fog, a man blunders into a house seeking help. Lost in the fog he has run his car into a ditch and sought out the nearest house to beg use of a telephone and possibly a bed for the night. Unfortunately for him the house he finds is  the scene of a very recent murder...

The scene is set -  a fog of dry ice hangs in the air in the auditorium, on stage a room in darkness, a figure in an invalid chair silhouetted against the dim light from French windows. Someone knocks at a door, a voice calls out and a figure appears entering tentatively shining a torch into the room and speaking to the person in the chair. When no response is forthcoming he shines the torch at the person asking if he is asleep...he gasps and scrabbles to find a light switch. the man in the chair is dead, and in the corner stands a woman holding a pistol.

And so begins The Unexpected Guest begins. Richard Warwick has been murdered. His wife confesses to the unexpected guest but instead of phoning for the police he helps her establish an alibi and comes up with a plan to blame the murder on an old enemy. We have no idea why he would do this. he has no connection to the family - he seems simply taken with the beauty of the lady of the house and opts to help her. The alibi is set, the rest of the house are roused to discover the grisly murder and the police are called. In the morning each member of the household is called to account for their whereabouts at the time of the murder. Questioned by Inspector Thomas it becomes apparent that everyone in the household knows something more than they are telling.

The audience has the advantage of knowing that the story given by Laura Warwick and Michael Starkwedder (the unexpected guest) is a complete fabrication, and little by little we discover that Laura's confession is also false (that's not really a spoiler it is clear she is covering for someone, again, the question is who?).  So who in the household is the murderer? Everyone has a motive, Richard Warwick it is revealed was a despicable and cruel man, spoilt by his life of privilege and further ruined by the accident that took away that privileged life.
The characters one by one reveal their hands, the blackmailer, the lover, the all knowing "loyal" retainer, the downtrodden and the diminished family members. Each one played beautifully, revealing just as much or as little as needed to keep the audience guessing. Red herrings and false trails abound, and Inspector Thomas methodically works his way through the evidence - you feel certain that he will eventually unearth the truth. His doggedness is complemented by the the poetic Sargent Cadwallader. Steve Hewitt and Richard Gardner are a delight throughout, playing the two policemen systematically providing the audience with information, highlighting clues, revealing motives, illuminating character and background.

Other standout performances for me were Sam Hinton as the mysterious, unexpected guest Michael Starkwedder and Callum Mawston as the ingenuous, childlike Jan Warwick, though all the performances were well played and convincing. Jess Chapman and Vanessa Aiken have produced a tense mystery which leaves the audience guessing throughout. Excellent.

The Unexpected Guest is visiting The People's Theatre until Sat 21st Jan.

Denise Sparrowhawk
Photographs courtesy of Paula Smart

Royalty Theatre - The Ghost Train - Review

The Ghost Train
Royalty Theatre
20.09.2016

The Royalty Theatre's new season kicks off this week with a production of Arnold Ridley's The Ghost Train. Though it was originally performed back in 1925 it is a play that has withstood the test of time. Set in the 1920s "somewhere in Cornwall". It is a tale of ghosts and espionage - a true Boys Own adventure. A group of travellers are forced to spend the night in a remote station on a wild winter's evening. A hapless passenger on their train loses his hat and pulls the emergency cord, causing them to miss their connection to Truro. But many things are not quite what they seem - from the hapless passenger to the haunted station with its lugubrious station master and strange foreign locals. What is the truth behind the ghostly night time express and the young lady with psychic vision? Is the hapless passenger really as hapless as he seems? There is more to this spooky tale than meets the eye and eventually all will be revealed - but to find out the truth you must see it yourself: there are no spoilers here.

The team have made a fair start to the season - a simple set, a good play, and a decent production. Good performances by Mik Richardson, Andrew Barella and James Errington, though Lorna Breeze almost steals the show with her portrayal of Miss Bourne - I enjoyed her tipsy flirting with Charles! Great sound and lighting effects for the train and the ghostly manifestations. It is a little rough around the edges - one or two performers trying just a little too hard and there are some shocking accents which I will forgive, if only because this is a comedy thriller and has quite an element of farce running through it (intentional, I hope). It's an entertaining production with enough sudden bangs to keep the audience on edge and a fair start to wnat looks like a promising season.

Stationmaster - Matt McNamee

Richard Winthrop - Andy Barella

Elsie Winthrop - Nikki Briggs

Charles Murdock - James Errington

Peggy Murdock - Zoe Tempest

Miss Bourne - Lorna Breeze

Teddie Deakin - Mik Richardson

Julia Price - Chloe Mendez

Herbert Price - David Armstrong

John Sterling - Rob Lawson

Policeman - Kevin Smith

Director - Billy Towers

The Ghost Train plays until Sat 24th September. Tickets cost £8/£6.50 and are available online in advance or on the door from 6.45pm . Curtain up is at 7.30pm

Denise Sparrowhawk

Where There's a Will - Review - Royalty Theatre

Where There's a Will

Royalty Theatre
27th Jan 2016

Caast
Philip - Liam Jack Foster
Kathy - Sinead Lindley
Jack - Lee Stewart
Sally - Olivia Bowern
Solicitor - Amy Herdman-Burns
Dave - Steve White

Where There's a Will written and directed by local writer Lee Stewart, was performed in the Studio at the Royalty Theatre. I always look forward to studio performances at any theatre, as the smaller venues invariably produce a more intimate experience for the audience and actors alike. At the Royalty last week this was even more true because there was no staging, and the audience were seated around three sides of the studio on the same level as the actors so it gave the feel of actually being in the solicitor's office and the hotel room with them.

The premise of the play is simple - three brothers and two of their wives are brought together for the reading of their uncle's will and, naturally, the will reading is not straight forward. The uncle has attached conditions. The brothers have not seen each other for some time, and parted on bad terms. The youngest, Philip, has born the brunt of caring for the uncle in his last days. There is a lot of bitterness, most particularly from Philip's wife Kathy, and the conditions of the will place greater pressure on already taut relationships.

As the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that a happy outcome is unlikely and a tense situation is destined to explode. It quickly becomes clear that the group was never going to survive intact - someone was bound to end up dead - and in fact more than one of the characters comes to a sticky end. The question for the audience is - who will die, and who will do the killing? In this, Lee Stewart kept the audience guessing right to the end.

The play has all the ingredients of a tense thriller, a dysfunctional group thrown together and forced to deal with their issues, with the lure of a substantial financial gain, and a surprising twist at the end. It almost worked, it was full of tension but for me it didn't quite hit the mark. I felt as if  Lee Stewart had tried too hard - he threw everything into the pot but the ingredients didn't quite bind together. I wasn't sure if this was trying to be a dark comedy or a tense "courtroom" thriller.

That said, the acting performances were good - Sinead Lindley portraying the poisonous wife/sister-in-law Kathy, with venomous enunciation and withering facial expressions. Philip, played by Liam Jack Foster was the archetypal hen-pecked husband, showing flashes of  fire that were quickly doused by his wife and older brother. Lee Stewart swaggered and preened as the boastful "something in the city" brother Jack. And as for Steve White's portrayal of the lecherous (and somewhat insecure) Dave - ladies, if you spot a guy in a rhinestone shirt and a Stetson out on the town any night, be sure to give him a wide berth!

To sum up - some interesting, if not very likeable characters, a slightly disjointed feel, but a shedload of tension and a surprising twist. It has the potential to be a really good suspense thriller or a very black comedy.

"Where there's a Will" was shortlisted for the BBC Writersroom Script Room 8 Stage Play competition.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Murder on the Nile - Review - People's Theatre

Murder on the Nile
The People's Theatre
19th Jan 2016

Agatha Christie is without the doubt the Queen of the Whodunnit. In Murder on the Nile she sets up the perfect scenario. She combines a confined space, no opportunity of escape, hot sultry weather, and an unlikely collection of people - supposedly random - with a surprising number of connections which Christie drip feeds to us as the play progresses. Social class, politics, religion, clash with jealousy, betrayal and money producing an explosive and fatal mixture for two fo the characters.
Right from the start we know that someone will end up dead by the hand of another on the ill-fated cruise down the Nile. But which character will die at whose hand? And will the audience and the rest of the cast manage to solve the mystery?

We have the rich spoilt socialite Kay (Sara Jo Harris) on honeymoon with her socially inferior husband Simon (Ian Willis), the cynical socialist Mr Smith, (Jake Wilson Craw) who seems to be a complete misfit amongst the rest of the monied and socially self-conscious passengers, Mrs Ffoliot-Ffoulkes (Karen Elliot), excruciatingly aware of her own worth, and her niece Christina (Rachel Scott) - the only genuinely nice person on the boat! Dr Bessner, (Steve Strouzer) a foreigner who we discover has a grudge against Kay's father, and Jacqueline (Alison Carr), the former best friend of Kay and jilted fiance of Simon. Are you following so far? Each one has a possible motive for murder.

As the play progresses and the tension and temperatures rise, it is left to Canon Pennefather to seek out the clues and uncover the truth. But he is not free of suspicion himself - how did he come to be on the boat on the Nile? Was it pure coincidence or is there more to his presence?

The cast act their parts convincingly - the audience is drawn in to the mystery, weighing up the characters and assessing which has the greater motive and opportunity for murder, guided by the good Canon and, of course, in the end all is revealed! Good performances from Alison Carr (who does play the emotional, overwrought female so well), and Jake Wilson Craw as the intriguing Mr Smith. David Downing holds the plot together nicely as the sympathetic and supportive clergyman with an investigator's mind!

The first act sets up the scenario so that the audience are au fait with all the characters and as such was a little drawn out, but the second act has much more action and humour as the plot unfolds and individuals' foibles are revealed and elaborated on.  There are a couple of strange anomalies - the steward (Steve Hewitt) is conspicuous by his absence in the second act and the boat's Captain appears from nowhere after the shootings as if his role is entirely there to justify Canon Pennefather as the lead investigator.
The set and costumes are sumptuous as to be expected, and the atmosphere and setting are enhanced with Egyptian music and sultry jazz throughout.


A fair production for Sean Burnside and Matthew Hope in their first foray into directing, Murder on the Nile plays until Saturday 23rd Jan.

Denise Sparrowhawk