The opening scene drops you right into the action: unhappy with his lot, Victor wants out of his marriage. The last time that I’d watched M Poirot was a couple of weeks ago with a huge Hollywood style film production of Death on the Nile starring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot alongside a host of famous acting talent, and Russell Brand, in a production that while glitzy and big budget, just didn’t somehow hit the mark. This new production at the Theatre Royal did away with the Hollywood royalty and instead relied on a great screenplay, a perfectly cast lead and wonderfully creative scenery. Written by Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner, All about Murder takes place in the writing studio at the Oxfordshire country home of Nigel Forbes, played by David Callister. Murder at the Theatre Royale by Ada Moncrieff belongs to a genre I have only recently become aware of – variously described as cosy crime, cosy mysteries and in this case cosy Christmas crime!

nights, ghostly tales and premieres stalk York Theatre Darker nights, ghostly tales and premieres stalk York Theatre

Short and squat, a man of around sixty stood before them. Glassy eyes a touch too prominent, strands of wispy hair sprouting from his head, he was a striking figure. A grin was plastered on his face, revealing misshapen teeth stained an unbecoming yellow.’ There were times during the performance when couples in the audience turned their heads from the stage to grin at each other as they identified with quarrels taking place on stage. As well as three plays by recognised thriller writers, the 2021 collection includes one play by Classic Thriller Season regular John Goodrum who has adapted the mysteries of G K Chesterton into Father Brown—the Murderer in the Mirror. Praise for Murder Most Festive) If you're a fan of historical mysteries, then Murder Most Festive should be at the top of your to-read list Cultured VulturesIn the home of the restless ghost of the Grey Lady, world premieres by Emma Rice, Matthew Bourne and Tonderai Munyevu will be complemented by scary appearances by horror favourites Dracula, The Hound Of the Baskervilles and the Headless Horseman. Lorne Campbell’s new theatrical version of The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff will be performed by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning trio The Young’uns – Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes – from October 28 to 30.

Murder in the Dark at York Theatre Royal Live Review: Murder in the Dark at York Theatre Royal

We are delighted to reveal full casting for the new Torben Betts thriller, Murder in the Dark , directed by Philip Franks. It was evident on the first night of All About Murder that a few lines did not come out quite as the actors intended. But this did not detract from the enjoyment of a play which some people may not consider to be a classic but has enough twists and turns to keep audiences engrossed right until the end. Did General Tilney murder his wife? Why did Catherine turn down her suitor? And what exactly has happened to John Thorpe? All the clues will be there to catch the killer, but will they be successfully deduced...? After crashing his car in a lonely country lane, former pop star Danny (Tom Chambers) finds himself—and his extended family—spending New Year’s Eve in an isolated holiday cottage deep in the English countryside. Also in attendance are the wife and son he abandoned to pursue his musical career, Rebecca (Rebecca Charles) and Jake (Jonny Green), his resentful older brother, William (Owen Oakeshott), and his age-inappropriate girlfriend, Sarah (Laura White).

Review

A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. David Callister and Susan Earnshaw are well cast as Nigel Forbes and Maxine Goodman, one a bumptious extrovert who thinks it is time to end their writing partnership, the other an irrational bundle of energy who is easily led. It's Christmas at London's Theatre Royale and journalist Daphne King is determined to solve an extraordinary mystery... Rebecca Charles ’s recent theatre credits include The Dresser (Theatre Royal Bath), An Ideal Husband (Vaudeville Theatre), The Graduate (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Father (Duke of York’s/Wyndham’s/Tricycle/Theatre Royal Bath), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, (Salisbury Playhouse), The Old Country (English Touring Theatre/Trafalgar Studios), Julius Caesar , (Barbican and Tour) and Great Expectations (Manchester Royal Exchange). Her film credits include The Heart of Me , Bridget Jones’s Diary , Shakespeare in Love and Mrs Brown .

Murder at Theatre Royal, Nottingham Review All About Murder at Theatre Royal, Nottingham Review

The older characters, however, are more convincingly rendered, and Tom Chambers makes for a strong leading man. As the play becomes increasingly disturbing and surreal, he provides an emotional anchor for the audience and manages to capture Danny’s increasing sense of anguish and paranoia. The language was overwrought and paragraphs unnecessarily wordy, and the characters' speech was stuffed with so much contemporary language - 'good eggs', 'shilly-shallying' that I felt the author was trying overly hard to cement the period setting in the reader's head. Both became very irritating as the book went on. Daphne gets down to business, but another odd thing is that no one seems to seriously question her credentials and her editor seems happy to give her free rein. There is another murder and the body is discovered by Daphne, of course, and then all the pieces fall into place. Fortunately for all concerned, including the reader, the whole investigation takes less than 48 hours and Daphne still files her copy and gets home in time to spend Christmas with her aged mother.The language used was quite confusing: being set in the 1930s a lot of old slang is used, however this is mixed in with formal language which made me confused about the social contexts of the scenes. Box office phone lines open from 10am – 6pm Monday - Saturday. Closed Bank Holidays, except when there is a performance when Box Office opens at 12noon This was a pity as I liked Daphne, the main character and if the rest of the cast were a bit wooden it didn't matter so much in the context of the plot. Strengthening the sense of time with more period detail from the 1930's and using language of the period in the speech but the text would in my mind have strengthened this book considerably. Director Jake Smith says: “Sleepy Hollow is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror stories ever written and a tour de force to stage. The production has at its heart the power of nomadic storytelling and gathering round the campfire for a good ghost story. It is an important story for now as we look at conversations around the identity of nations, communities and humankind throughout the world.” Coronation Street alumni Wendi Peters and Bill Ward will star in Philip Meeks’s stage adaptation of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow It is part of the zeitgeist of contemporary film and theatre that we start expecting one thing then find we are presented with quite another. If you keep an open mind you will enjoy Murder in the Dark.