Theatre Royal, Nottingham – until Saturday 17 August 2024
Reviewed by Louise Ford
3***
This place is busier than Piccadilly Circus
The second offering, in The Colin McIntyre 2024 Classic Thriller season at The Theatre Royal, is Fatal Encounter by Francis Durbridge.
Durbridge made his name originally in the 1930s when he wrote his Paul Temple series for radio. The prolific author also wrote for TV, film and the theatre. The play is directed by Karen Henson and the set is designed by Conan Walsh. The music of the 1960s sets the scene, although the play was written in 1991.
The thriller this time is more of a suspense and there are a great number of “whys” to keep the audience guessing and intrigued. Is everyone or everything exactly as they seem? From the nervous wife to the mysterious Mrs Clayton; the reappearing handbag to the significance of the art work and just why does he keep calling the Inspector ”he”? There are plenty of clues and red herrings to keep everyone guessing right up until the end.
The action takes place in the living room of a large house in London, and is set over three days. The house belongs to publisher(?) Howard Mansfield (John Goodrum) and his wife Joanna (Hannah Blaikie). A series of apparently unconnected events leads to the “accidental” shooting of Perry Kingsley (Pav Maru). Howard decides to take the rap for the killing and dispatches his wife to their country cottage. Howard unwittingly takes centre stage in a world of blackmail and conspiracy, in an attempt to protect his wife and unravel the mystery that is impacting on his family and friends. Sarah Wynne Kordas plays Inspector Chris Caldwell, who is an excellent mix of Columbo (just one more question) and Juliet Bravo with a touch of Angela Merkel, works with Howard to unpick the mystery.
Whilst in some ways the style may seem a bit dated and wordy it is nicely performed and moves at pace in the second half. There is some humour but the cast on the whole played it with a straight bat, although they couldn’t help “hamming it up” for the murders, which greatly amused the audience. The cast clearly enjoyed themselves and had a bop to celebrate at the end.
So get dialling for an evening of suspense!