Dial M for Murder: Darlington Civic Theatre

ORIGINALLY written for television, Frederick Knott’s clever thriller is set in the early 1950es and features Coronation Street’s Oliver Mellor as a successful tennis player who plots to have his wealthy wife murdered. All does not go according to plan, however, and the truth does not come to light until the very last moment.

An elegant set provides the backdrop for Terri Dwyer as the intended victim and Jolyon Young as the hired killer, to play out the murder scene which goes wrong in more ways than one; a bemused audience tittered uncertainly as the corpse was seized with a coughing fit not once but twice, studiously ignored by everyone else on-stage. The curtain came down for the interval as the blanket covering the deceased heaved about like a sack of ferrets, and it was no surprise when returning after the interval to find the body had gone. Done a runner, no doubt.

The intensity of the action is tempered by the appearance of John Hester, quite wonderful as the quirky Inspector Hubbard, who cuts through the guilty party’s lies and conducts an intricate charade to expose the real story.

The plot is ingenious and the actors make an excellent job of the rather melodramatic dialogue; it’s fun to eavesdrop during the interval as the members of the audience speculate about who’s going to get away with what as guilty secrets are exposed.

* Runs until Saturday, April 2. Box office: 01325 486555 or darlingtoncivic.co.uk

Sue Heath