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Dial
M For Murder
Banbury Players
The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury,
Wednesday 23 - Saturday 26 July 19:45
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It
made a refreshing change to step back in time and sample the wonderful
genre of murder-mystery in its true home - the stage - and during
its most popular period, the 1950s.
Although
it took us back to a time and place now almost unrecognisable, the
Banbury Players' latest production of Frederick Knott's classic
play (and Hitchcock's famous movie), Dial M for Murder, is far from
old-fashioned.
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| Prepare
to murder? A scene in Dial M for Murder. |
Frederick
Knott's intricate thriller revolves around a cast of just five characters:
Tony Wendice, a former professional tennis player who married the
naïve Sheila for her personal fortune; Sheila's former lover and
crime writer Max Halliday; the deliciously amoral C. A. Swann, Tony's
criminal acquaintance; and, of course, the cunning and tenacious
Inspector Hubbard.
Desperate
to get his hands on her fortune, Tony has gone to great lengths
to arrange the murder of his unsuspecting wife. However, things
of course go terribly awry and Tony is forced to do some quick thinking:
will his dastardly plan unravel before his very eyes…?
Despite
some inevitable first-night glitches, such as lighting hiccups,
this is a tremendously enjoyable and indeed slick production from
what is an established and successful theatre group.
The pleasure taken by each actor in their character was in itself
a delight to watch, with particular credit to Julia Charlesworth
playing the innocent yet commendably sensible Sheila, and to Lee
Dwyer's razor-sharp Inspector Hubbard.
As
both a nostalgic trip down memory lane and an time of suspense,
drama and good old-fashioned whodunnitness, I can wholeheartedly
recommend this as an excellent evening's entertainment for murder-mystery
fans young and old alike.
By
Vicoria Roddam
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