Simon Collins enjoys Carl Grose’s skilful adaptation of John Willard’s 1922 humorous horror, The Cat and the Canary, at the Richmond Theatre.
OUR VERDICT
For the sake of the comedy, the artifice of the plot hardly matters in yet another very accomplished Bill Kenwright production. Suffice to say several relatives gather in a remote and gloomy mansion on Bodmin Moor for the reading of a sinister will. They learn that one of them will inherit everything providing they can stay sane overnight.
Hijinks and misdemeanours soon erupt in the manor house, which may or may not be haunted, unleashed by strange cousins who may or may not be manipulating the sanity of our innocent and beautiful heroine. Oh, by the way, there is a homicidal maniac on the loose recently escaped from the local asylum. Oh, and there is a priceless diamond necklace hidden somewhere ready to find if you can solve the riddle of its location. Outside the windows and across the moor thunder and lightning seem to rage permanently. Oh, and there is an eccentric ancient housekeeper alternately fluttering about and unexpectedly slinking everywhere.
The array of talent assembled for this amusing concoction is remarkable. The cast are all highly experienced television and stage actors. Some cynics might have wondered if Britt Ekland is included mainly for the cachet of her celebrity but in fact, her performance is impeccable. She manages to bring pathos to a ludicrous character, no easy achievement.
Also pleasing is the non-naturalistic, classic style of the play - too rare nowadays - a credit to the celebrated performance designer, takis, and the sure-footed theatrical intelligence of director, Roy Marsden. Ratcheting up the tension is a gallery of close-up eyes on the bedroom wall of a 1950s country house, but it is incongruous. Sound designer, Dan Samson, enhances the crazy melodrama with an underlying soundscape throughout (as heard in Hollywood movies, and for that reason dubious on the English stage) with some of the bangs and crashes startling older members of the audience.
However, there is little time to cavil, for the necklace has been discovered, its clues unriddled with comical ease, and the twists and turns of the final scene are upon us as we learn at last who the villain is.
Venue: Richmond Theatre
Dates: 2-7 March
- Monday – Saturday: 7.30 pm
- Wednesday and Saturday: 2.30 pm
Tickets: from £13 (book here)
