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The Cyclops has an eye for a good deal

  • cphilpott480
  • 6 days ago
  • 3 min read

REVIEW: Murder at Midnight – Malvern Theatres (Tuesday, October 7 to Saturday, October 11).

Showtime! stars rating: * * * *

BILLED as a thriller by Torben Betts – a man who’s certainly no slouch when it comes to dastardly doings in the dark – I nevertheless found myself struggling with this one.

For me, a thriller should render the viewer in at least a partial state of suspense. But I must admit that not once was I aware of those hind quarters suddenly edging their way to the rim of my seat in the stalls.

To be sure, this play moves along at the proverbial cracking pace. But I found myself yearning for a pit stop for all the wrong reasons as this racetrack of a production skidded and careered its way along.

It’s New Year’s Eve and gangster Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ has just flown in with a bulging wedge after completing a successful drugs deal. He’s looking forward to enjoying the festivities with girlfriend Lisa and his dear old mum.

Cockney thugs always have a ‘dear old mum’ clucking about in the background, don’t they? They’re presumably there to take the sons’ minds off breaking legs, supplying concrete overcoats, and other delightful but necessary manifestations of the criminal calling.

Now what Jonny (Jason Durr) doesn’t know is that Lisa (Katie McGlynn) is partaking of a bit of seasonal extra-curricular with Paul (Max Bowden) who for some inexplicable reason has arrived at the house dressed as a vicar, although he’s nothing of the sort.

The old Ten Commandments rule against having a bit on the side clearly doesn’t apply to our dog-collared lothario. Meanwhile aforesaid dear old mum Shirley (Susie Blake) squeaks about in her dressing gown voicing the occasional snippet of East End philosophical thought.

Set-wise, the action is real time three-dimensional, providing a sort of split screen effect, a relentlessly effective device that combines to high octane the drama, which at times hits a hyperactive stratosphere.

But again, thriller? For me this seemed more like a blend of Whitehall farce, Agatha Christie, and with just a touch of Midsomer Murders thrown in for good festive measure.

Indeed, at times, I was expecting Brian Rix to suddenly burst in, crashing and dashing through endless doors in his polka dot pattern boxer shorts.

That said, there are a few vaguely tense moments when Russell (Callum Balmforth) makes a complete pig’s ear of being a trainer pants criminal while the gay heavy Trainwreck – yes, that’s really his name, played by Peter Moreton with more beef than a Kansas cattle pen - ends all pretence of being the merciless enforcer when he declares his undying love for bemused boss Jonny.

Meanwhile, caught in the middle of all these shenanigans is Cristina (Iryna Poplavska) who, despite being in a state of permanent hysterics, still seems to be the best temperamentally balanced out of this motley collection.

There are some extremely convincing special effects throughout, powered along by Ruth Cooper-Brown’s clever innovations, especially when it comes to some of the cast being deprived of seeing in the New Year or any future New Year for that matter.

And director Philip Franks – Jason Durr’s old boss from the Heartbeat days – in keeping with his former incarnation as Sergeant Craddock, has clearly felt the collars of the villains of the piece, and given them all a good shake. Which of course all combines to maintain the impetus of Betts’ tall tale.

All right. It works on several levels… except that ‘thriller’ is not a word I’d use to describe any of them. Nevertheless, it’s a good two hours of fun, and warmly recommended as the autumn days shorten and the clock ticks away to a bewitching… and potentially murderous hour.

 

 
 
 

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