THE PERFECT MURDER

Malvern Festival Theatre

JOSHUA ANDREWS & PETER JAMES PRODUCTION

Les Dennis, Gray O'Brien & Claire Goose

The perfect stage adaptation of the perfect murder story, with the perfect cast of seasoned professionals makes The Perfect Murder a sure fire hit. With huge recent media exposure and rave reviews, this new writing had a lot to live up to and doesn’t disappoint. Set in present day suburbia, celebrated crime writer, Peter James, explores the frightening belief that around 600 missing people a year, in the UK, are murder victims who will never be discovered, confirming that the perfect murder is the one we don’t hear about. To allay some fears though, that equates to only 0.0001% of the UK population.

With such serious subject matter, it is a surprising relief to discover that Shaun McKenna cleverly weaves a reasonable amount of humour into his adaptation through the domestic disharmony of the ironically named Mr & Mrs Smiley. Victor, an aging IT manager, convincingly played by Les Dennis, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the younger, unfulfilled Joan, superbly portrayed by the wonderful Claire Goose. Both alleviate their unhappiness through love affairs, of which they are each equally oblivious. Kamila Walcak is perfect as Victor’s sultry, Croatian prostitute with unexpected hidden talents that prove incredibly useful to the young DC Grace, perceptively interpreted by the distinguished, Steven Miller. Joan enjoys an invigorated love life with ‘cockney geezer’ cabby, Don Kirk, whose impressive athletic prowess is enjoyably flaunted at every opportunity by the talented Gray O’Brien.

Although all of the actors do an excellent job, some of the performances appeared to lack truth and were a little technical at times. It may be that this was a conscious decision taken by director, Ian Talbot, but more emotional connection between the characters might have enhanced the delivery of such brilliant writing. At times it sounded more like a script reading than an expression of personality and thoughts.

This is definitely a play of two halves. The first act runs two relatively separate storylines, one comedic and one dramatic, with action swapping between the Smiley’s home and the Brighton brothel. Act two, however, brings in an unexpected third element with twists and turns that make for a thoroughly enjoyable evening of entertainment. Definitely worth seeing.