Dial M For Murder, Little Theatre Leicester Review
Written by Sam for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Please note: this review may contain spoilers.
Dial ‘M’ for Murder started as a stage play by Frederick Knott, which then premiered as a BBC TV special in 1952. Ex-tennis player, Tony Wendice (Andy Longley-Brown) plots to murder his wife, Sheila Wendice (Amber Goddard) after learning she had an affair with thriller/crime writer, Max Halliday (Sam White). Using the power of blackmail, Tony Wendice convinces an old school friend to murder her, in their apartment on a Saturday evening when Tony and Max are out together. However, things don’t quite go to plan.
Whilst Captain Lesgate (Paul Large) is in the middle of strangling Sheila, he’s suddenly stabbed to death by her with a pair of scissors! From there on, things start to escalate and unravel with Inspector Hubbard (Adam Jones) on the case. This show was directed by Mary Jones.
At first, the story was a little slow to start for me. I found the initial conversations quite long with no movement (the two characters were sat on the sofa for a long period of time), and I wasn’t engaged. At one point, I wasn’t sure when the pace was going to pick up. Eventually, we were introduced to more characters and the story started to develop, and I became invested in the storyline. Although, I don’t think this play was aimed at my age group, it felt like it was more suitable for an older audience.
After the first few scenes, the storyline starts to unfold. It becomes more intriguing, but best of all, it is cleverly written. At the time, you don’t actually realise how much Tony Wendice gaslights those around him. It is interesting to watch because it becomes so natural to the character as the play goes on. It’s like he’s convincing us and the other characters, that his way is the right way and nothing else can seem plausible. I thought the actor grasped and executed this extremely well.
The actors did a fantastic job at staying in character. Especially as Andy plays a narcissist, which must be a challenge in itself as well as remembering all their lines and keeping up with the posh accents. The cast’s whole image and body language made it feel even more real.
And wow, the set by Gemma Greaves is incredible. It portrays a typical 1950s apartment well but the whole stage has been used to make the most of the space. The wallpaper was aesthetically pleasing to look at and added character to the living room. I loved the colour. I did enjoy how the wall with the front door moved closer to us after certain scenes, it was a little trippy but also kept the audience in suspense. The lighting was also adjusted to make us feel drawn in.
Finally, I do think the play could have been wrapped up a little sooner as the end scenes felt dragged out and not to the point. I found myself disconnected towards the end, which was a shame because I loved how Tony Wendice was being found out by everyone because of the loopholes he’d not covered!
Dial ‘M’ for Murder is on at The Little Theatre in Leicester until Saturday 9th March. There are tickets available, so be quick to get yours before it ends! Please buy them from here.
☆ ☆ ☆.5
