Peter James’s Brighton-based detective stories of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace have a common feature in their titles with the inclusion of the word “Dead” and usually very dark storylines of murder. In recent years, we have seen productions of Dead Simple (a buried alive story) and Looking Good Dead (snuff movies) and this latest UK tour is Wish you were dead, but it has a different feel. Set in France in the Chateau-sur-L’Eveque, a rather dark and foreboding house where Grace (George Rainsford) and his second wife Cleo (Katie McGlynn) have arrived for a relaxing holiday with their friend and nanny Kaitlyn (Gemma Stroyan) and her boyfriend Jack (Alex Stedman). But from the first moment, all is not as it should be, and they begin to speculate where Jack is, as he was expected to be there when they arrived.
The dodgy electrics of the house, the lightning flashes outside, the dark walls, the huge suit of armour with a large halberd and the heavy musical interludes between scenes are all the hallmarks of a Hammer horror film and rather obvious devices to add tension and drama. Then add a French maid with an Allo Allo accent as Madame L’Eveque and Vicomte L’Eveque in a wheelchair (like Dr Scott from the Rocky Horror Show) and the drama soon dissipates into a comical parody. When Curtis appears in the second Act as a criminal mastermind from the East End out for revenge, you naturally smile at the overtop hammy characterisation but at least he ups the action, waving his shotgun widely at everyone and moving the story forward to its inevitable conclusion.
Clive Mantle must be enjoying his role as the villainous Curtis; he dominates the stage when he is on and raises the temperature in each scene, as he tries to control the behaviours of the other characters. It is fun to watch him strut around the stage, threatening everyone and giving it a different feel to other Peter James stories. There is good support from Rebecca McKinnis as Madame who much more subtly creates a threat with a look or a move towards the baby in the carrycot but also suggests that she may have a more caring and honest side to her personality.The large composite setting with the honeymoon suite raised upstage above the downstage front hall and stairs to the tower and other rooms promises more than it delivers although you do wonder why anyone would book to stay there if there were pictures online! Much of the action is played out in the forestage and the scenes in the bedroom are static (there is not a lot of room) and generally left in the half-light. There is at least one surprise in the staging, although if you have seen Looking good dead the same device is used!
The result is a two-hour drama (including interval) that is entertaining and amusing without being taxing or scary, carried by Clive Mantle and without the horror or unpleasant elements of other Dead stories. The tour continues until the end of July with visits to Malvern, Birmingham, Sheffield, Southend, Leicester, and Woking to come, all quite large venues so I suggest you sit near the front. If you like Peter James books or your mysteries formulaic or are simply admire Clive Mantle, it's worth seeing but otherwise wait for the “And then there were none” tour to see how really great murder mystery thrillers are constructed. Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★★★
Seat: Stalls, Row T | Price of Ticket: £32.50
