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