3 STARS, May 24-27. A stark view of opposing ends of the spectrum – ambivalence at its best! Love versus hate, good versus evil, and bluff versus double bluff, who knows?
Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start! We open to a setting of a 1960s cottage in Surrey, where we are introduced to Charles Norbury (Marcus Hutton) and his wife Anne (played by Freya Copeland).
We discover that Charles is a successful author of story books for children, but the warm & ‘fuzzy’ books that he has penned are not reflective of his own unpleasant ‘wretched’ and sardonic persona.
Listening to audience members in the interval, I discovered that they thought that there was something quite eerie about Charles being able to write stories for children when they did not bare children themselves (paralleled in the play to that of Beatrix Potter who also wrote heart-warming stories for children but sadly did not have any of her own around to share these joyous tales with due to family loss). The Irony is not forgotten.
The play starts with Charles and Anne in a bitter disagreement regarding her desire for a divorce, and his ‘demand’ to stay married for the sake of his wholesome image (or at least veneer of one). Charles is aware of his wife’s salacious affair with Peter Marriot (Ben Roddy) but is happy to go along with the façade so long as his reputation isn’t tarnished.
Early on sees the introduction of Charles secretary – Miss Forbes (Michelle Morris) a seemingly charmingly dim-witted character – to which the audience warms to instantly. Seeing no way out of her loveless marriage, Peter induces Ann to assist him in Charles’ murder, but somehow unwittingly, Miss Forbes ends up somewhat intertwined in this felonious arrangement when she overhears a recording that was not meant for her dictation! This all ends up with the mystery of ‘The Sound’ of Murder (syntactically via the act of actually ‘hearing’ how the plot to kill will unfold). Cue the unknowingly witty Inspector Davidson (John Hestor) to lead the case.
Each act descriptor is rather bluntly entitled: Act 1 scene 1 ‘a Saturday morning’ and Act 1, scene 2 ‘five minutes later’ etc… all to add to the facade, and to make you believe that the plot is simplistic, but as we delve deeper into the storyline, we discover that it has far more twists and turns than we’ve initially been led to believe.
Preparing for this production I researched some information on line, and discovered that this play has been popular here in the UK, but also in the US which led to an adaptation for the screen being filmed in 1982 staring Dan Ackroyd as the ex-naval commander Peter. Interestingly all the actors – bar Marcus Hutton – are from the same drama school, and had all gone their separate ways, but reunited for this play (which is notable from the chemistry that they all encompassed).
Best performances on the night went to the delectable Michelle Morris as Miss Forbes, and the adoringly raw & watchable John Hester as the Inspector.
All in all, from talking to the audience before, during and after, once the first gun shot reverberates across the stage, The Sound of Murder is definitely one to watch as it most certainly does NOT under deliver.
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