Dial M For Murder
Banbury Players
The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury,
Wednesday 23 - Saturday 26 July 19:45 |
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.  | | 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 | 
