Richmond Theatre – until 16 March 2019
Reviewed by Prachya Van de Gevel
4****
I am a great lover of a good mystery, so was very excited to see this play.
The staging was excellent as the stage transformed from the station into the train where our mystery begins. On a train journey from Vienna to Zurich a young lady Iris played by Lorna Fitzgerald befriends an middle aged Mrs Froy played by Juliet Mills, who incidentally is joined on stage by Maxwell Caulfield her husband playing the role of Dr Hartz. Iris is joined by Max (Matt Barber) and duo sets out on the mission to prove she is not going crazy and track down the mystery of the lady vanishes.
Now I am no stranger to enjoying a little Agatha Christie , and I am sad to say I figured out what was going on quite quickly. I had never seen the film nor even heard of this play until tonight. The acting on the whole was just okay, maybe it was nerves or over acting, whilst the scenes moved on well there was not a lot of subtle tones in any of the actors. Perhaps this is needed to convey the multitude of characters on the stage, a rabble including a magician, (Mark Carlisle) a couple having an affair and trying not to be rumbled and just do not want to get caught up in the whole messy affair, and a pair of stereotypical Englishmen chattering on and on and on about cricket…
The duo act played by Robert Duncan and Philip Lowrie, originally provided much needed humour to lighten the Nazi themed overtones of the play. But the cricket act gets old fast, much like hearing friends chatter about the same football game for hours on end. I enjoyed very much the music of Schubert which plays a central role and a common theme throughout the play, there may have been some issues with the theatre’s speaker system as I had great trouble hearing some of the lines in German, the accents a little ropy to be honest, but added to to some of the humour.
I very much enjoyed the performance on a whole, there was no real stand out performances for me as the cast all interacted well together and each scene transitioned seamlessly. If your in the mood for a little mystery then I suggest checking this play out, but do not read any spoilers as you will ruin it for yourself! The acting won’t win any awards, but the audience will enjoy the thrill of the ride.