Dial M for Murder
This sharply written piece by Frederick Knott had audiences on the edge of their seats.
Tony Wendice, a retired tennis star, discovers his wealthy wife, Sheila, has had an affair. Rather than divorce and risk losing her fortune, he devises a plot to murder her. He blackmails an old schoolfriend into doing the deed, which goes horribly wrong when Sheila kills the would-be murderer during the attack.
Dipesh Lakhani, as Tony, was consistently and coldly sinister throughout and Gemma Barder’s charmingly naive air as Sheila was the perfect contrast. Chris Raymakers as Captain Lesgate, the murdered turned victim, gained momentum as the plot progressed. Paul Barras was confident as the level-headed American lover, Max Halliday, adding to the intrigue with his crime-writing skills in his attempt to save Sheila.
Unusually, it was the obligatory police inspector who proved the star of this show, both in plot and performance. Often it can be the dullest role, but Tom Mackenzie, Inspector Hubbard, turned in a relaxed, well-timed and totally convincing interpretation.
Directed by Sue Waller, assisted by Jan Wilson
Edited from Gordon Birch’s review for the Harborough Mail. ( Photographs by Andy Wallace)
Lilies on the Land
Telling the story of four women’s experiences in the Land Army during the Second World War, Lilies on the Land swaps traditional narrative for an oral memoir, drawn largely from the real-life testimony of those who served in the so-called ‘forgotten army’.
Liz Clarke, the director had made the shrewd decision to keep staging to a minimum, a choice that represents a significant act of faith in the quartet of female actors on whom the entire play rests.
Was her faith repaid? Indeed it was – in spades. Playing the four land girls, Tracey Holderness, Caitlin Mottram, Ruth Fowler and Sophie Marlowe were truly outstanding. Each delivered a bravura performance that saw them inhabit their named character and slip seamlessly into others to tell tales that were often funny, often sad and frequently hair-raising. Whether it was a comic anecdote involving the digging of a toilet, sobering stories of misogyny, or a genuinely moving rendition of Silent Night, they are all individually brilliant – and when coming together for musical moments, even better than the sum of their estimable parts. In short, Lilies on the Land was a heartfelt, powerful and above all, immaculately performed night out.
Edited from Andrew Holmes’ review in the Harborough Mail. (Photography by John Harrison)
