There are some plays that burst onto the stage with such frantic energy that one barely has time to catch a breath, and Murder at Midnight is certainly one of them. Billed as a dark comedy thriller, Torben Betts’ play leans much more heavily toward the “dark” than the “comedy” in its opening half, not because it lacks humour, but because its humour is black as pitch, best appreciated with a slightly raised eyebrow rather than a belly laugh. By the time the curtain falls, it’s an entertaining, if uneven, ride: messy, self-aware, and less fun than perhaps it deserves to be.
Directed by Philip Franks, the first scene has a whirl of characters, motives, and misdirection that are flung at the audience in quick succession, and while the intention seems to be controlled chaos, the effect can be a little confusing. This is not helped with the combination of overlapping dialogue, busy staging, and a “Romanian” accent that at first renders key lines difficult to catch. Are we in farce, horror, or satire? It’s only in the second act that the answer becomes clear, a twisted, almost giddy blend of all three.
One recurring device throughout the first half is the repeated need to step outside to make mobile phone calls. While this serves the practical function of removing players from the stage when the plot demands it, it quickly becomes tiresome. There are only so many times an audience can watch someone exit with a muttered “No signal in here!” before it begins to feel less like a quirk of character and more like an overused plot crutch.
The performances are the saving grace throughout. The play has a cast largely comprising stage and screen favourites including Jason Durr (Heartbeat, Casualty), Susie Blake (Victoria Wood as seen on TV, Coronation Street) and Max Bowden (Birdsong, EastEnders).
Susie Blake’s turn as Shirley is a particular standout , gloriously unhinged, gleefully unpredictable, and the rare performer who can make a line land even when the script seems determined to trip her up. The ensemble, too, commit fully to the madness, and it is that collective energy that keeps the play afloat when the plot threatens to sink it. Jason Durr is a modern-day London mobster with lots of evil charm while his side kick Trainwreck is well played by Peter Moreton. Katie McGlynn is the most entertaining character as the ditzy Lisa while Iryna Poplavska is the rather annoying carer Cristina, she of the mobile phone that only works outside. Max Bowden is fun as the incompetent, love sick policeman Paul and Callum Balmworth the equally feckless Russell aka Coco.
There was, on the night I attended, what appeared to be a costume malfunction revealing, quite by accident, who was lurking behind the mask of the supposed Devil figure outside.
Less successful are the gay subplots, which veer into cliché rather than insight. The jokes attached to these moments are tired, the emotional beats undercooked, a shame, given how much else in the play thrives on boldness and risk. Similarly, the “shocking” death scenes that even the director acknowledges in his notes are very Tarantino-esque add to an unbalanced melee of genres.
Visually, though, Murder at Midnight impresses. The multi-level set from designer Colin Falconer allows the action to dart between rooms and perspectives, creating an illusion of depth and disorder that suits the piece perfectly.
Ultimately, Murder at Midnight is a dark, messy, and clever piece of theatre that manages, by its end, to charm and produce a fair few some laughs. It’s far from perfect but there’s a gleeful energy that’s hard to resist once it takes hold.
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Until November 8