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A gripping tale of detection
Philip Cairns as Max and Christopher Timothy as Inspector HubbardDial M for Murder
Malvern Theatres
***** THIS is not one of those murder mysteries
where we are drawn into playing the detective, as with a Poirot for
instance, seeking to identify the murderer from a number of plausible
candidates. No, here we are
watching, as in The Day of the Jackal,
a very meticulous and cold-blooded killer as he carefully and precisely
plans and designs the 'perfect murder'. Tony Wendice has discovered that
his wife has been conducting an affair with Max, a writer of crime
fiction. When Max returns after working for a year in New
York, Tony decides the time has come to act and he blackmails Swann, a
past acquaintance from his schooldays, into becoming the hired assassin
of Sheila his unfaithful wife. Swann initially resists the assignment but is
persuaded without too much difficulty when he learns that Tony knows of
his various aliases and debts and could therefore expose him and land
him in prison for some time. Max is a writer of crime fiction; early in the
play he is discussing whether his expertise in the ways of the
underworld might equip him to carry out the ‘perfect murder’. He
observes that in contrast to fiction, in real life things do not work
out perfectly. It is no surprise then that, though we witness Tony's
meticulous preparations, the plan unfortunately falls apart, mainly
because Sheila resists Swann's attempts to kill her; indeed she
retaliates, killing Swann in the process. Tony attempts to recover the situation in the
aftermath but is ultimately outwitted by the Police Inspector who proves
equally meticulous and just a shade more subtle.
This play has a few suspenseful moments but it is
more fascinating than tense. We are absorbed by the cold-blooded villain
and his careful, calculating ways in manipulating those around him and
executing his fiendish tactics. Daniel Betts as Tony Wendice maintains a
chilling cool more or less throughout. At one point he does throw up in
the waste bin and then leans back to laugh somewhat hysterically at the
way things have worked out with his wife facing the death sentence for
murder - her elimination would not be how he planned it, but the result
would be the same. Otherwise he betrays little genuine human
emotion, he is a convincingly dark and ominous villain. The Police
Inspector is played by Christopher Timothy in an understated way: his
manner is not forceful but the logic of his questions and deductions
expose the weaknesses in those he challenges, and his character proves
powerful without being forceful. Philip Cairns as Max, Kelly Hotten as
Sheila and Robert Perkins as Captain Lesgate complete a very strong
cast. The design for this show is excellent. The
murderous red theme dominates the minimalist set: the limited stage
furniture suffices to establish the atmosphere; the use of the red gauze
upstage enables us to see, when necessary, the characters in the
hallway; the lighting is very atmospheric, at times making particularly
effective use of silhouettes and the spooky music lends a filmic quality
to the action at times. The revolve adds variety as well. At times the play becomes somewhat melodramatic:
the struggle between Sheila and Captain Lesgate is in danger of being
overplayed. There are some genuinely amusing moments: the dramatic irony
when Max proposes a 'clever' ploy to save Sheila which entails Tony
making a confession that he had blackmailed Swann in precisely the way
that we witnessed earlier is thoroughly comical. We all love a good story and ‘Dial M for Murder’
provides us with a gripping one. The audience loved it and enjoyed the
intellectual challenge of following the plot as well as the moments of
genuine suspense. It is a great evening's entertainment. Tim Crow
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