Dial M for Murder.

The opening night of Dial M for Murder at Cardiff’s New Theatre was a fantastic experience as soon as you walk in through the doors of the majestically beautiful new theatre which was a first for me and I am itching to get back to. The guest experience from collecting the tickets to sitting down was absolutely fantastic. As soon as I got my tickets, I headed to the bar and enjoyed a nice pre show drink in a cosy environment where you can tell everyone was excited to enjoy the night's entertainment. Heading to my seat and I was awestruck by the amazing set design of the apartment in which the play takes place in, created by David Woodhead and realistically lit by Lizzie Powell it was so so easy to forget that you weren't in an isolated theatre and not transported to the warm glow of London in the 60’s.

The story started with Margot Wendice (Diana Vickers) amidst a year long affair with Max Halliday (Michael Salami) who has just returned from america. The two try their best to keep their love for each other a secret from Margot's husband, Tony Wendice (Tom Chambers) the two lovers exchange letters and burn them after reading to ensure Maximum secrecy except Tony manages to find a letter in Margot's handbag. All seems well in their lives until Margot leaves the flat with Max and we truly see what this affair is doing to Tony as his plans start to work in his favour.

Tony tricks an old school friend of his, Captain Lesgate (Christopher Harper) to come over to his flat and through a series of exchanging private information about Margot, Tony now has lesgate under his spell and asks him to kill Margot as to stop the heartbreak of his wife cheating on him behind his back. Lesgate manages to enter the house and attacks Margot nearly killing her but Margot manages to attack lesgate instead, thus putting a spanner in Tony's plan.

This was a great place to  have the interval as it had me in suspense for the 2nd part and to ask myself what is the outcome now? What will Tony do to fulfil his plan?

Still in the same set as the first half, we are introduced to the inspector who is dealing with the murder of lesgate. Inspector hubbard (also christopher harper) is a totally different character both in body language and in mannerisms to lesgate despite being played by the same actor. Harper does a fantastic job as the inspector. He knows his work and knows the procedures and yet he’s comedic too. For me I would watch the play again just for Inspector Hubbard as his dialogue is so beautifully performed and his energy across the stage/room is reminiscent of Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock with a childish hint of Matt Smith's Doctor Who. 

Through a fantastic manouvre of red flashing lights and psychedelic soundtrack, we learn that Margot is charged with the murder of lesgate and is immenintly sentanced to hang for her crimes. Tony, back at the flat is chipper as he can see out his plan and the blame is shifted from a quick little murder to under the influence of the law. Inspector hubbard manages to reacquaint himself with Max and he also manages to sneak Margot back home as hubbard is convinced he has the right master plan that Tony used to kill his wife. The soundtrack when Tony approaches the front door really had me on the edge of my seat and I had no idea what to expect when the cast confronted each other. The play ends on Margot walking out the door as a free woman. No worries about her past but confronting life one step at a time.

I had only seen a trailer for the film of Dial M for Murder which left me fresh to experience what the plot had to offer me. In order to get the full 5 stars from me I would've considered microphones for the actors as a lot of emotion was lost from trying to project their voices to the top row of the audience. Tony Wendice for me could have done with a little bit more of a sinister edge to his character as he is planning a murder after all. Or maybe that adds to the character that he can so quickly and energetically plan a murder. Who knows who is really safe around Tony. Overall I was surprised how brilliant this production was. A brilliant theatre, cast and environment mixed with an intricately planned murder and how quickly the master mind must think of lies when the initial plan goes wrong was a fantastic joy of an evening and this production is surely one to see on its UK tour

Review by Jordan Simmons

Theatre Review - Looking Good Dead

Looking good dead

Directed by Jonathan Boyle

Adapted by Shauna McKenna

Based on the novel by Peter James

The world premiere of an adaptation of best-selling author Peter James’s Looking Good Dead promised to be an entertaining evening of suspense and thrills at the New Theatre in Cardiff town center.

Unfortunately, I was left wanting, despite being enthralled with the romance of being in the beautiful surroundings of the New Theatre again for the first time since the pandemic began.

The play starts by introducing us to a soon-to-be murder victim and a mysterious masked man. After a few odd minutes of awkward flirting we cut to black and we meet the main family the play centres around.

Tom Bryce (Adam Woodyatt, BBC’s Eastenders), a washed-out businessman on the brink of bankruptcy and his son Max (Luke Ward- Wilkinson) inadvertently witness the brutal murder of our girl from the beginning in a live-streamed snuff film.

What follows is a series of ill-fated consequences for Tom and his family as things go from bad to worse as wife Kelly (Gaynor Faye, The syndicate), Max and Tom are dragged into a world of murder and blackmail.

The overall premise and plot of the play are actually quite good with twists that could be surprising. Where books and novels have the license to go deeper into the character background and nuance, the play feels stunted and has large holes where further details are needed in crime thrillers such as this and is lacking in character development and background.

What truly disappointed me, however, was that any moment that was promising to make us connect with our characters was completely dashed away by some over-exaggerated delivery and non-believable acting.

Luke ward Wilkinson’s portrayal of Max Bryce was generous and honest enough however to draw the eye and focus back into the scene and should be applauded.

Having said all this, I found myself entertained and smiling by the end of the play, but it wasn’t due to the suspense and intrigue that I usually find and was expecting with crime drama such as this but with the pacing, energy, and gusto with which this piece was delivered by every member of the cast.

The play moves with the energy of a comedy, the police who seem to spend more time making poorly timed puns, that take over from the business of hunting a killer, certainly seem to see to that and the ending seemed to bring out laughs from the audience rather gasps of shock.

The true star of this show is the unsung heroes, stage design, lighting, and sound design. all of which create a believable world on stage that’s pleasing to the eye and allows us to truly be able to place our characters in our world.

All in all, Looking Good Dead is an entertaining night at the theatre if you are out for some light comedy and some famous people on stage.

Review written by Robin Hannagan - Jones for KCL