Queens Theatre, Hornchurch – until 25th February 2023
Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton
5*****
Everybody has secrets, some more sinister than others. However, when a dinner party suddenly becomes a murder investigation, everybody is left trying to keep their own secrets covered up, leading to false accusations and some dramatic revelations about some character’s pasts. Inspector Rebus (John Michie), Stephanie Jeffries (Emily Joyce), social media genius and influencer Candida Jones (Emma Noakes) and Husband Jack Flemming (Billy Hartman) are attending a dinner party at hosts Paul and Harriet Godwins’ (Forbes Masson and Rebecca Charles) house. Harriet Godwin has created a very clever murder mystery case for her guests to try to solve, using her own life as inspiration for the characters and story. However, after a rather tense scene in which Jack Flemming talks about the death of his ex-wife, it is revealed that there is a body in the upstairs master bedroom’s en suite. Everybody becomes a possible suspect, turning on one another with accusations of too many cigarette breaks, or toilet trips. By the end of the play, two huge secrets have come to light, and the person responsible for a murder is revealed.
This play is absolutely fantastic, with twists and turns, and tension that emulates a modern day version of a Sherlock Holmes case. The cast are amazing at constantly doing something when in the background, with subtle facial expressions and body tension helping to show their true feelings towards one another. The one character that is impossible to read, which he even says is deliberate, is Inspector Rebus, who seems to have everybody else in the room completely figured out.
This play is truly phenomenal, and will leave you trying to figure out the ending for the whole show. Make sure you don’t miss this spectacular play.