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DIAL M FOR MURDER by Frederick Knott
Presented by Malvern Theatre Company
Directed by Don Hammond
Reviewed (July 4) by K.E. Weber
Cast: Mandy McCarty, James Robertson, Peter Flaherty, Terry Nalder, Michael Maude.
Frederick Knott was not a prolific playwright, but he did pen two classic thrillers - and that's probably enough. Wait Until Dark was one and Dial M for Murder was, of course, the other.
The premiss of this play is simple. Money. Tony Wendice has married for money and is plotting to murder for money. He blackmails Captain Lesgate, a scoundrel he used to know, into strangling his wife Sheila, and arranges a brilliant alibi for himself. Tony faces a slight set back when the murderer gets murdered and the victim survives. He quickly rallies, however, and makes the most of the opportunity presented to him. Sheila is almost convicted for the murder of the man who tried to murder her. Luckily for her, Inspector Hubbard from Scotland Yard uncovers the truth, and with the assistance of Sheila's love interest, Max Halliday, he sets a snare that will eventually trap Tony and free Sheila.
I was impressed with Malvern's precise execution of both set and play, but I was bewildered by the occasional lapse of this precision. The set - depicting an affluent flat in London in the early 1950's - was resplendent in its detail. Furnishings, hardware, light fittings (including a lovely chandelier), decorator items and, of course, the stairway were just right. Props of the time including bill folds, single keys, and clean shoes! - were also used to great effect. I loved the fact that letters looked as if they had been read and were actually written on!
Even though the lighting was satisfactory, it never quite managed to synchronize with actor's fingers. The chandelier blinking on and off and finally deciding that it should be on, was an example of the strange lapse of precision I talked about earlier.
Don Hammond was highly successful in replicating the ‘feel' of this play. It is a play that is predominately driven by words. Movement is limited, but when made, is purpose driven and precise. The actors clearly understood this as their movements were clean and tight. Dialogue was also clean and snappy and accents were generally good. Don Hammond clearly understood the melodramatic properties of this play, but I was relieved to find a general under playing rather than an over playing of characters.
While costumes were good, Sheila's hair was not. The play opens with Sheila (Mandy McCarty) and Max (Peter Flaherty) stealing an illicit kiss in Sheila and Tony's flat. Sheila looked lovely in diamonds and dress but her coiffure let her down, as it did, I felt, throughout much of the play. I also felt a little annoyed at the marked inconsistency between Captain Lesgate's and Max Halliday's viewing of Tony's bank statements. A small thing, I know, but when a production is otherwise sound these trivialities seem to have the loudest voice.
Mandy McCarty was pleasing to watch and captured the essence of the somewhat naive Sheila Wendice. Mandy was believable throughout but, whether it was due to the nature of the script or something else, there were moments of melodrama. - The scene in which the gasping Sheila uses every piece of available furniture to heave herself to the bedroom springs to mind. - James Robertson was wonderful as the suave but malignant Tony Wendice. His accent and tone were just so and his mannerisms were nicely controlled, but I did feel that his posture could have relaxed a little. Peter Flaherty gave his Max Halliday a roguish flavour which was highly endearing. His higher energy level contrasted well with the other players. Terry Nalder looked right, but did little else to convince me of Captain Lesgate's unscrupulous nature. He was not nearly surly or coarse enough. He was simply too nice. I liked Michael Maude's Inspector Hubbard and aside from a few troublesome lines it was a steady performance with just the right blend of bluff and stoicism.
Malvern Theatre Company presented a highly entertaining production that certainly satisfied the palette of the many die hard mystery fans in attendance.
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