The Watermill at Newbury is one of those small gems, a
producing house that turns out great theatre in a small space for a loyal
audience base. Every visit to the old mill sees the stage transformed into a
different space as a setting for the productions. On this occasion we are
transported to a dark chaotic detective’s office in which we meet the detective
and a host of suspects.
The musical was written as parody, Raymond Chandler meets
Cluedo. What sets this production as different from the normal murder mystery
genre is that all the suspects are played by one actor played by Jeremy Legat
and he interacts with the aspiring detective played by Ed MacArthur. Much of
this interaction takes place around the upright piano they both play which
faces upstage and the story unfolds with a limited number of props, a door to
set the room and hats to distinguish characters.
This has been done before with multiple characters played
in quick succession by the same actors. The outstanding “39 Steps” executes
this with just four actors to great effect and the recent “Ben Hur” production
at the Tricycle Theatre and Watermill tried the same model. It requires a
staging, props and direction that assist the hard working actors in conveying
the location and characters. In “Murder for two” the two excellent actors are
let down by a restrictive setting and inadequate direction to make the show
work as slickly as it needs to succeed. There are too many suspects and they
are not distinctive enough or given enough time to be established.
The placing of TV screens on the set showing the keyboard
almost recognises
Having said that Jeremy Legat and Ed MacArthur work very
hard with great energy and enjoyment and still create plenty of laughs and it
feels like work in progress that could yet be transformed into another “39
steps”.
The play transfers to The Other Place for a short run on
2nd March.
Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★
