Monday, June 24, 2013

Go Back for Murder Review

Go Back for Murder
Connaught Theatre, Worthing

Though the story is a fascinating one, this production of Go Back for Murder is an average one at best. Carla le Merchant (Sophie Ward) returns to England following years living in Canada, after the deaths of her parents. Her father, a painter, Amyas Crale (Gary Mavers), was found poisoned and all the evidence pointed to his wife, Caroline Crale (also played by Sophie Ward). She was sentenced to a life in prison and three years later she commits suicide. Carla had received a letter from her mother protesting her innocence, so she decides  to return to her childhood home where Amyas died to discover the truth. Together with a solicitor, Justin Fogg (Ben Nealon), she brings back all the five suspects present in the house so as to re-enact the events leading up to Amyas' death.

For anyone who has read Five Little Pigs or watched the episode from the Poirot TV series, this play is basically the same story, except the man with the little grey cells is not in it. The first act consists of Carla meeting the five suspects, whilst the second act is set in Carla's childhood home, where the characters recreate the events and solve the mystery. The simple structure of the first act means that it is nothing but a number of static and polite interrogations that present the facts. The production does pick up in the second act, as the play goes back in time and shows events the characters claim happened. The story is a clever twist on the usual Agatha Christie storyline, where the mystery is solved years after it happened, and there are some intriguing revelations along the way.

Like The Mousetrap the play relies on the acting, which the cast does well. Sophie Ward is not entirely convincing as the young Carla, but she projects the girl's determination to find out the truth. She does succeed as the mother; argumentative and a fighter she displays the family resemblence between the two characters. Ben Nealon is the promising love interest as the young and charming solicitor, though the romance is rather forced in this play.

Lysette Anthony plays Lady Elsa Greer, who was being painted by Amyas Crale and having an affair with him when he died. During the flashbacks she played the young, flirtatious, husband-stealing woman very well.   Liza Goddard was a opinionated and moralistic Miss Williams, the family's governess. Meanwhile, Robert Duncan and Anthony Edridge plays two brothers - a sour and impatient Philip and a charming but foolish Meredith.

The set is pretty serviceable. The blue walls with two doors and several awning windows are a bit conspicuous, until some French windows are added for the second act. Up to this point the set is basically a blank background, and furniture and objects are brought on to indicate the change of settings. One thing I did not like was the transitions between the present and past, represented by sudden strobe lighting along with the sound of an old fashioned camera taking a photo. It was annoying and a lot of the time I had my hand shading my eyes in anticipation.  

Altogether, the production and its cast are admirable to say the least. However, Five Little Pigs is one of my favourite Agatha Christie stories, and although I would rate this production at a Low Bargain, I would recommend Go Back for Murder to anyone who does not know the story.

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