Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 28 February 2026
Reviewed by Louise Ford
5*****
Blood behind the begonias
I’m sure that I’ve read somewhere that the Golden Age of murder and mysteries in the 1920s and 1930s was a response to the uncertainty and chaos of the First World War and the great social changes taking place across certain parts of the world. So perhaps it’s not surprising that these “cosy crimes” still appeal to audiences today, in our unsettling times.
Caroline Graham’s first novel, The Killings at Badger’s Drift, was published in 1987. The first episode of Midsomer Murders aired on UK TV ten years later in 1997, with this first novel. The TV series ran to over 100 episodes. Caroline only wrote seven novels! The first episode starred John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and Daniel Casey as DS Gavin Troy. The novel has now been adapted for the stage by Guy Unsworth. Guy also directed the play.
The good news is that DS Troy due to his hard work and diligence has now been promoted to Detective Chief Inspector and takes on the role of Barnaby. The sidekick role is played by James Bradwell, he’s got a lot to learn about red herrings and leaping to (the wrong) conclusions but he’s got a steady mentor to steer him through the murky world of village life.
Barnaby and Troy are key to the action and driving the story and mystery forward to a satisfactory conclusion. At times the action and scene changes take place around them as they stand centre stage ; pondering the chaos around them.
The rest of the cast really earn their wages with their quick changes . Each member of the cast plays at least two roles and are on and off stage in the blinking of an eye. The seven members of the cast play over 15 roles. There is a further nod to the drama’s classic roots in the program, where the casts’ pictures are all in golden frames. It is hard to pick out anyone performer, so I’ll just list them out as they all deserve recognition; Natalie Barclay, Chandrika Chevli, John Dougall, Julie Legrand, Rupert Sadler, Chris Agha and Rhîan Crowley-McLean
The big shout out goes to the set design (David Woodhead), we see the village through a window and the various rooms and buildings are “dropped in”, to great effect. To complement each set, various props whizz in and out and of course we have an overloaded tea trolley with a mind of its own! The sets are lit to perfection by Matt Haskins. The lighting really brings the scenes to life and are particularly impressive in one scene involving an interview of “two” suspects!
So in summary we are talking about an evening of murder and mystery set in the quaint English Countryside, where no one is quite who they seem and where the weapon of choice could be an axe, knife or good old fashioned poison. The production pays homage to the original TV series but is also peppered with humour and tongue in cheek self knowing. There is also a surprisingly high body count!
You wouldn’t think, would you, one small village could have so much trouble bubbling away under the surface?