Theatre Royal Nottingham – until Saturday 23rd August 2025
Reviewed by Chris Jarvis
3***
Written by the late Ira Levin; well known American author of many books such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives and plays such as Veronica’s Room and of course Deathtrap which premiered on Broadway in 1978 and was an instant hit. It was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play. It held the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, and was adapted into a film starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon in 1982.
The whole play takes place at the home of Sidney Bruhl (Andrew Ryan), a once-celebrated playwright with many well-known plays behind him, who is now struggling with crippling creative drought.
The curtain rises in Sidney’s study in the late 70’s – an old-fashioned room with a large desk, comfortable sitting area and French windows into the garden. The back wall is decorated with all sorts of weaponry, handcuffs and other trophies used as props in Sidney’s successful plays. He has just received a letter from a student who attended one of his seminars.
His wife Myra Bruhl (Sarah Wynne Kordas) joins him in the study for a drink, and he shares the contents of the letter. The student is himself a budding playwright and having just completed his first script, has sent it to Sidney to get his thoughts on whether it will be a success.
Sidney is blown away by the ‘2 act play’ called Deathtrap, telling Myra that it will be an instant box office hit. Myra, who is supportive of Sidney’s career suggests ways in which Sidney might get involved in helping this young playwright launch his career, while also making money for himself. An introduction fee, collaborating to offer his expertise, etc. However, Sidney, who is desperate for a hit play after several recent flops, gets somewhat carried away with his devious mind making plans for how he might steal the brilliant new script. They jokingly discuss whether Sidney is capable of murder and whether he would do it to save his career.
Sidney phones to invite former student, Clifford Anderson (Pavan Maru) to his home to discuss the script, suggesting that it is a good first draft but that there are too many changes to be made to discuss over the phone.
During the meeting Clifford’s suspicions seem to be aroused and a deadly game of deception and betrayal begins. They receive a visit from the Dutch Helga ten Dorp (Susan Earnshaw), a larger-than-life psychic renting the house next door who has sensed danger and describes with great accuracy some of the events that she has ‘sensed’ have occurred. She also expresses specific concerns about Myra’s health. The curtain falls at the end of Act 1 leaving the audience with an intriguing twist after what felt like a long, drawn-out tale.
Act 2 continues with more twists and intrigue, with everyone seemingly out for themselves. I found the second half more entertaining and livelier with so many changes in direction and particularly liked the twist at the ‘very end’ and I lost track of how many times the ‘Deathtrap 2 Act lay’ was seemingly rewritten by different characters!!
Overall Deathtrap was an entertaining play with the humour and thrills expected of a comedy thriller with a clever and intriguing plot. I saw Death by Fatal Murder with the same actors last week, who are part of the team involved in the renowned Nottingham Theatre Royal Thriller Season. They do extremely well to remember their script, complicated characters and plots and I notice from the programme that some swap between acting, directing and design over the three productions – a multitalented and hardworking team