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Rehearsal For Murder
Malvern Theatres
**** WRITTEN by the
men behind TV crime classics of
Murder She Wrote
and Columbo,
it's no wonder that this play is a slick, clever whodunit. It's a cut above many
touring murder mysteries with a strong cast led expertly by Robert Daws
- a familiar face due to his television roles in favourites including
Poldark, The Royal and Outside Edge. Set in an empty theatre, the premise is that
playwright Alex Dennison (Daws), who is grieving the supposed suicide of
his actress fiancé, calls together a list of suspects on the anniversary
of her death. Gathering them together for a bogus read-through
of his new play, Dennison's real intentions are to reveal each of the
characters' motives and unearth the killer. Based upon Richard Levinson and William Link's
1982 made for TV movie the action moves between flashbacks and the
present in a cleverly crafted story. The script the suspects
are reading transforms into scenes involving the victim, played by
actress Amy Robbins, who has a natural rapport with Daws, probably as
she played his screen wife in The Royal. There's plenty of other
ageing TV names adding fine support too - Susan Penhaligon of
Bouquet Of Barbed Wire
fame, Robert Duncan from Drop The Dead
Donkey, Steven Pinder from
Brookside -
plus some younger cast members with Ben Nealon from
Soldier, Soldier
and Lucy Dixon from Waterloo Road. Adding an aspect of self-awareness to the
proceedings, there's references to plays within plays (like The
Mousetrap and Hamlet) and it's not until the very end that you realise
all the clues were laid out in front of you from the word go. Under the leadership of Bill Kenwright, this is
the debut play for The Classic Thriller Theatre Company. It's a strong
start and I'm looking forward to their next production. Continues until Saturday and will also be at
Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre from April 4 - 9. Alison Brinkworth
25-01-16 Rehearsal for Murder will be at The New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, from 4-9 April and Coventry Belgrade, 9-14 May.
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