The Birmingham Rep – until Saturday 20 September 2025
Reviewed by Ava Clarkson
3***
A murder mystery like no other…
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the heart of Birmingham, is a bright and airy welcoming space. The theatre has been here for over 50 years but feels modern and contemporary.
Tonight’s performance, Murder at Midnight, is written by acclaimed playwright Torben Betts and produced by the award-winning Original Theatre. We are promised “a gripping murder mystery filled with twists, chilling suspense and wickedly dark humour – guaranteed to keep you guessing until the final stroke of midnight”.
The stage is clever – set in a pod formation, so the audience can see all parts of the house at once. Through the design of Colin Falconer’s multi-level set and Philip Franks direction, characters share different parts of the house, at the same time. Although this keeps our attention bouncing around the stage, at times it is more of a distraction and felt like some scenes were frozen in front of us, whilst another continued.
The play starts with a crime scene. Police Officers and forensic officers taking photos in white suits and we ascertain that not just one – but many crimes have taken place on New Years Eve. Blood splattered curtains and evidence numbers show the extent of the crime. As the police officers try and speculate about what has happened, we are given an insight into what is to come. The room is transformed in reverse, and we are taken back in time to the start of the evening.
We meet all the characters in quick succession, the owner of the house and notorious crime boss Jonny the Cyclops (Jason Durr), his possibly demented mother Shirley (Susie Blake) who see’s all and gets all the funny lines throughout. Shirleys jittery and petrified carer Cristina (Iryna Poplavska) who frequently uses her overseas accent and lack of British knowledge to her advantage. Jonnys glamorous wife Lisa (Katie McGlynn) caught in his gangland world along with Jonny’s bumbling sidekick fondly named Trainwreck (Peter Moreton) and the hapless and in his own words “rubbish” undercover police officer Paul (Max Bowden). Lastly, we meet Russell aka Mr Fish (Callum Balmforth) the nervous burglar dressed in a clown mask.
This play is a combination of whodunnit, crime caper, with a farcical slapstick side. Seven characters in the wrong place at the wrong time producing the wrong ending for all. Throw in a stash of drugs, cash and deadly weapons and a previously unsolved murder…What could possibly go wrong?
The actors portray all the characters well, with Susie Blake getting a special mention for her comedic interpretation of Shirley. Her quick one liners and laurel and hardy type body language – she truly stole the show for me. Similarly, Jason Durr commands the stage in a villainous comedic way. His booming laugh exaggerated for effect starting everyone else laughing – it was infectious. However, I felt most of the characters lacked depth. There were parts of the play which felt very laboured and repetitive, in fact the whole story could easily have been covered in one act. Some parts did not seem to have any relevance such as Jonnys obsession with Robbie Williams, or “Trainwrecks” emotional confession that he is in love with Jonny whilst wielding a meat cleaver around the stage. Whilst I enjoy slapstick comedy, at times this came across in parts as silly and childlike.
When we finally after two hours get to the murder scene, the bloodbath is very well done. The finale is loud and bloody, with fake guns mistaken for real guns, cross bows, and confessions. The play is finished in fake blood and loud gunshots, the lights go out and we are done. This play was aiming to be dark and comedic at the same time which I don’t feel works. Overall, it was long, repetitive with insubstantial characters and made two hours a very long slog.