York Theatre Royal, 22 April 2017. Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
Murder, Margaret and Me, is a ‘comical thriller’ directed by Damian Cruden. The play follows the relationship between two women Margret Rutherford and Agatha Christie, both very strong and eccentric, this gives the amazing comical essence of the show as interaction between them both is absolutely superb. It delves into the secrets they both hold and unearthing them making for the thriller side of the play.
The Acting was amazing with the cast of three, each character had their own little quirks and things that made it a believable person; it felt like I was watching Agatha and Margaret in real life, not on stage. Nichola McAuliffe played Christie in such a way that we could connect to her while also judge her as a person, for me it was her face that made the character and her laughs. Susie Blake played Margaret Rutherford an actress famous for playing Miss Marple on the silver screen, her character was very fun to watch with lots of quirks giving depth and mystery. Andrina Carroll who came rather late to the production played The Spinster who helped move the story along and giving us a back story which will fit somehow into the play.
The Set was breath taking, and definitely took the production to higher levels, with only two stage hands – you wouldn’t expect them to assemble a set on stage whilst the show is going on with such little effort, they help build and put together a rather detailed set by setting up walls to make a house and moving furniture around. This work is very typical of Damian Cruden, which I love as it gives the show another spark of creativity; this always blows the audience away.
Lighting worked very well with the set and the opening of the play proved the pinnacle of how so, with the three ladies moving around near the edge of the stage in a freeze frame as a light came upon them, in a very much Hitchcock way.
Overall the performance way very nice to watch and it is defiantly made for an older audience as some jokes I could not understand, but that should deter you from watching as I loved every second of the plot and character. The best aspect of the show was the relationship between the characters and how it evolved over time.
It is showing at York theatre royal until the 4th of March and I advise that you go and see the marvel of Murder, Margaret And Me