Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 24th February 2024
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
4.5****
Murder In The Dark is a deliciously odd new play that tells the tale of a lady who comes to the aid of some travellers when their car loses out in an argument with a wall. Though the house she deposits them in is cold and dank it’s an improvement on the outside weather so, at first, there is some blessed relief. That relief turns out to be not so blessed nor long lasting as they would have hoped…
The programme asks us to “spread the word (but not the spoilers)”. This makes sense as there are many twists and turns which are all part of the fun. But it does make it difficult to review without giving the game away.
Mrs Bateman, heroic rescuer extraordinaire, is played by the incomparable Susie Blake in a totally bonkers portrayal (I mean that as a compliment) that has just about everything in it, displaying her mastery of comedy, drama and timing. It was a joy to watch her character unfold in a commanding performance.
Tom Chambers mines a rich seam of confusion at events and frustration at those around him in the multifaceted role of Danny; driver of the car and former teen star latterly down on his luck. Like Blake, he straddles the dark and the light with an easy assuredness.
Our two leads are ably supported by a stellar cast – Rebecca Charles (Rebecca, Danny’s ex), Owen Oakeshott (William, Danny’s brother), Laura White (Sarah, Danny’s current girlfriend) and Jonny Green (Jake, Danny and Rebecca’s son). The writer has given them all a lot to get their teeth into and they don’t disappoint – I was impressed with everyone’s range throughout. As you can guess by the dramatis personae, there’s a wealth of subplots going on with all those familial connections and each brings their own demons to battle.
The set uses space with an inventive economy, providing us with some genuinely jarring, unsettling moments out of the blue (or the black). With the electrics on the fritz, it’s nice to see darkness play such an integral part in proceedings. I found myself spending a lot of time wondering just what will appear from those murky recesses. Max Pappenheim (Sound Designer and Composer) and Paul Pyant (Lighting Designer) deserve special mention for the marvellous effects they produced.
Rather like several popular TV shows (which I cannot mention for obvious reasons), if you like the oddball, quirky, darker side of TV scheduling with a twist in the tale this play will keep your boat afloat nicely. I enjoyed it though I did find myself flummoxed for long periods, wondering exactly what was going on – so well done the playwright Torben Betts for keeping us guessing. Rest assured though, the ending does reach a satisfactory conclusion.
An entertaining play that I would like to see again, I thought the ending was very inventive (I thoroughly appreciate that type of ending). Couple that with some powerhouse performances and this is likely to be a crowd pleaser (though perplexer). I encourage you all to brave the cold, dark nights to get out to Malvern and catch this play while you can – though do be careful on your drive home…