Posts with the label thriller
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Wednesday 24 April 2019
The House on Cold Hill (UK Tour), New Victoria Theatre | Review
The House on Cold Hill (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Tuesday 23rd April 2019 by Natalie Parsons
★★★
Ollie Harcourt and his family have bought the house of their dreams in the
country, but it is not as idyllic as it sounds!!
This old mansion has a chequered
history which explains why it has been empty for forty years. It is not long
before the Harcourt family begin to realise that they are not the only residents of the house.
The House on Cold Hill has the chill of the usual ghost story, such as Woman in Black but with a modern twist. It’s set in the present day in a house packed
with modern technology – laptops, WIFI and leading lady Alexa. The modern influence makes the show feel more relatable, however, at
times the suspense and thrill becomes overshadowed by the comical
intervention of the script.
Credit must go to the cast for portraying a modern professional family with Joe McFadden
as Ollie, the former advertising man who's now setting up his own web design
company; Rita Simons as his wife Caro, the practical and factual Solicitor and daughter Jade played by Persephone Swales-Dawson as the petulant teenager.
Joe McFadden delivers a solid transition from joyful Ollie as his bubble is burst. From being exuberant about the move and the opportunities the house
provides he is sent into disbelief as he accepts that there may be something
sinister going on and the realisation that his family may be in terrible danger.
Rita Simons, his wife Caro, is the more practical of the two when things go
wrong and more willing to believe what she’s experienced. There is good
chemistry between the cast and they all support each other well, to deliver a
solid delivery of the plot. At times the suspense is broken by a
change of direction to light heartedness so you aren’t sure if it is a thriller or
light comedy.
I think fans of Peter James may be slightly disappointed with the
adaptation of the book to stage and may find that the transition to stage
has lost a certain amount of the thriller element. But The House on Cold Hill does
create some spooky moments, with some good stage effects.
The play is
performed well by the cast with special mention of Persephone Swales Dawson
performance. The use of Alexa in this modern thriller was ingenious!
The staging, lighting, costumes and scenery were excellent. I enjoyed the play
but can’t say I loved it.
photo credit: Helen Maybanks
Wednesday 4 April 2018
The Case of the Frightened Lady (UK Tour), New Victoria Theatre | Review
The Case of the Frightened Lady (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Friday 20th October 2017 by Melanie Mitchell
★★★
The Case of the Frightened Lady is the second production by Bill Kenwright's Classic Thriller production company. Originally written by Edgar Wallace the play is a new adaptation by Anthony Lampard. It is directed by Roy Marsden whom you may know as televisions Inspector Dalgliesh.
This classic whodunnit is set in 1932, the story takes place in the Baronial hall of Marks Priory, the ancestral home of the Lebanon family. Beautifully created by set designer Julie Godfrey. The opening scene begins with a fancy-dress party, where we are gradually introduced to the characters. It is at the party a horrifying murder takes place, putting everyone under suspicion.
When Detective Inspector Tanner, played by Gray O’Brien, probably best known as Tony Gordon in Coronation Street, is bought in to investigate the crime he soon realises that things are not what they seem. Along with his assistant Detective Sargeant Totti, Charlie Clements, of Eastenders fame, they begin to uncover a closely guarded secret.
Rula Lenska is well cast as Lady Lebanon, a mother obsessed with marrying her son Lord Lebanon, played by Ben Nealon to his cousin Isla Crane. This is to be a marriage of convenience, not wanted by either party but purely to fulfil Lady Lebanon’s wish for a son and heir to carry on the Lebanon title. Miss Lenska plays the part with an aristocratic haughtiness, whilst April Pearson is very believable as her terrified niece and secretary Isla.
Adding to the suspicious goings on are Denis Lill as the horribly lecherous family physician Dr Amersham with Glenn Carter and Callum Coates as Gilder and Brook, 2 rather sinister footman.
I felt that the first act was rather slow and although we were introduced to the various characters, apart from the murder not very much happened. I certainly wasn’t on the edge of my seat.
However, the second half picked up pace as the story unravelled and secrets were revealed. The plot was full of red herrings, with almost everyone a suspect. I for one didn’t solve the case until very near the end, which added to the enjoyment.
Don’t expect to be scared witless by this production although there were several very unexpected claps of thunder and gunshots, with sound by Dan Samson, that alongside some clever lighting effects, by Chris Davey, certainly made me and many other audience members jump out of their seats.
If you like a good old fashioned whodunnit then this is definitely a show for you.
The Case of the Frightened Lady runs until Saturday 7th April 2018 at the New Victoria Woking.
Thursday 7 September 2017
Wait Until Dark (UK Tour), Richmond Theatre | Review
Wait Until Dark (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday September 6th 2017 by Lucy Jardine
★★
Wait Until Dark, a 1966 thriller by Knott is a play about, well, a rather implausible and confusing plot where criminals try to recover, by kindness then by force, a object that the photographer husband has been persuaded to bring back from Amsterdam. We are never quite sure why he agreed to do this - was he a deliberate drugs runner (although drugs are never mentioned), or simply a gullible stranger? He never quite convinces as to what he does, in his love for Suzy, or indeed why he is away at key moments in the play. So that's the plot.
The set however, convinces more, and makes a nod to the 1960s original, the furniture and decor all instantly place us firmly in that era. The characters vary in their portrayals: there's nothing subtle about the bumbling crooks, the husband's fondness for his wife never seems quite genuine. The real tour de force is Karina Jones who herself was registered blind at the age of 13. Not having known this before the play, I had been utterly convinced by the way she felt her way around the stage, negotiating obstacles (a great many obstacles!) as she did so.
Overall however, by the end of the play you are left feeling that you have just watched a rather dated, over-theatrical production by a rather ho-hum am dram company. See it if you want a chuckle, but otherwise don't bother.
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