Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 19 August 2023
Reviewed by Louise Ford
3***
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
The penultimate offering in this season’s Classic Thriller is seasonally set in sunny Spain. The Costa del Crime where everyone is not quite who they seem. It’s the 1980’s cue big hair, shoulder pads and Wham! Murderous Liaisons comes from the pen of Brian Clemens who originally found fame in the 1950s when the BBC snapped up one of his original thrillers.
The stage is set inside a terracotta dream villa with the glamorous Suzy (Lara Lemon) who has a proposition for the handsome rogue Larry (Pavan Maru ). However it’s not the kind of proposition that he is either hoping for or expecting. The plotting wheels are oiled and greased with vodka and then for more serious business whisky. Suzy flatters and cajoles Larry into helping her escape from a difficult situation. He doesn’t take much convincing and happily demonstrates his skills. Off stage a roar of an engine and on to the stage enters the problem, Alex (Jeremy Lloyd Thomas). A vision in relaxed beige. Not quite the medallion wearing gangster we were perhaps expecting.
The first half is a little slow, with a couple of twists and turns. It ends with a bang! The second half has much better pace and again twists with both parties flattering Larry who feels he has the measure of everyone and is top dog! Oh how the mighty are fallen!
In some ways it is a simple “ ménage a trois”, think of The Postman Always Rings Twice, but as we know life (and theatre )is rarely that simple.
We thought that we had guessed the murderer/victim just before half time. Of course, as with all good drama, we were right but for the wrong reason.
So brush up your Spanish and escape to the Costa del Crime for an evening of double-crossing and deceit. Olé.