★★★★

“a highly watchable cast, delivering line after line of snappy dialogue”

Katherine Moar’s “Ragdoll” is inspired by the trial of Patty Hearst – the heiress turned actress, kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s who was later convicted of working with them and being charged for armed robbery. Her defence lawyer, Francis Lee Bailey, lost the case despite putting forward the fact that she was coerced into it by her captors. Although the names have been changed, there is little to separate the fictional characters from the real-life ones (even the SLA is namedropped). So ‘inspired by’ is probably an understatement. The disguise is a very thin veil. There is no disguising at all, however, the sharpness of Moar’s writing in her thoughtful, thought-provoking, ingeniously structured and punchy new play.

The narrative is split between two pivotal points in the lives of our protagonists. In the late seventies, Holly (Katie Matsell) is awaiting trial for her role in the armed robberies. Her hotshot lawyer, Robert (Ben Lamb) sees it as a case to project his career into the major league. There is a lot of media attention, some of it unwanted and unwarranted. Robert has his own distractions, too, mainly in the shape of a hack journalist out to smear his name. We first meet the couple in the present day. They are estranged by now, but Robert (Nathaniel Parker) is calling in a favour from Holly (Abigail Cruttenden), hoping she can bear witness to his character and help clear him of allegations of an ‘inappropriate nature’. Holly is naturally resentful – having been ghosted and abandoned by Robert decades earlier. We are aghast at Robert’s confidence that borders on arrogance. Tensions and stakes are high, and emotions rise even higher, tempered by moments during which Moar leads us gently into ‘odd-couple’ comedy territory.

We never drift into familiar territory, however. Even if sometimes we think we might be heading that way. Whenever that happens, Moar repeatedly sticks the knife in with a twist, forcing us to look at things in a different way. The two time periods are separated, until further twists reveal how great and significant the overlap is between past and present. A fascinating dramatic device is at play here, which the cast pull off masterfully.

The characters are undoubtedly privileged but are played with a compassion that arouses our sympathy. Matsell’s nervous idealism as the younger Holly turns into the fury and resignation that Cruttenden portrays with a bubbling, volcanic strength. Lamb, as the rising star of the courtroom, hasn’t yet had his smooth confidence worn away by the knocks to his career, while Parker’s present-day Robert, however, clings onto this self-conviction by a thread. They are both victims in a way. Victims of changing times and attitudes as much as circumstance. “If I had died, people would like me more” quips Holly in retrospect, thankfully without sentimentality. Josh Seymour directs with a tight hand on the oscillating structure: the actors watching their other selves, engaging and reacting. Ceci Calf’s simple set, strewn with packing cases, is dominated by an expensive, cream leather sofa, rich in symbolism.

This is only Moar’s second play, but the dialogue has a veteran’s finely-honed shrewdness and insight, offering peep holes into social history as well as the human condition. Its context is specific, but the questions raised are far reaching. With a highly watchable cast, delivering line after line of snappy dialogue, “Ragdoll” is an absolute joy to watch. We barely have time to think about what we are supposed to be thinking about – there’s time to do that on the tube journey home. We know, though, that we have been in the presence of a writing talent to keep an eye out for.

DEATH ON THE NILE

Richmond Theatre

★★★★

“Each performer is in tune with the requisite balance of light and shade – humour and suspense”

Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, has become one of the most recognisable figures in detective fiction, first appearing in print over a century ago. So popular was he, that when he died from a heart attack in the 1975 novel, ‘Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case’, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of the New York Times. It is no surprise that the dignified and diminutive detective found himself portrayed in film by the likes of such heavyweights as David Suchet, Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Branagh.

Anyone who steps into his shoes has a formidable legacy to live up to. Mark Hadfield, in Ken Ludwig’s touring stage adaptation of “Death on the Nile”, slips into them comfortably. Stylishly directed by Lucy Bailey, the assumption is that the majority of the audience will know the story, so characterisation and atmosphere take centre stage, with the mystery sidelined to the wings. Bailey still manages to keep the suspense, opening with a London street scene in which two lovers are entwined in romantic complicity. Poirot watches on as the mist swirls. We are in film noir territory before Hadfield steps out of the shadows and speaks directly to us. A glint in his eye, and subtle inflections in his accent, are a tacit and conspiratorial directive not to take things too seriously. In fact, as the play progresses, we increasingly realise how adept Ludwig is at eking out gentle humour from Christie’s story.

A glittery party at the British Museum introduces the principal characters, before the action shifts to the Nile cruise ship. Designer Mike Britton leads us from land to water with impossibly slick dexterity on his two-tiered set. Slatted panels slide and shift revealing layers and secrets. There is an undercurrent of furtive activity behind the main action downstage. Mic Pool’s sound design mixes folksy Egyptian musical motifs with the lapping waves of the Nile and nighttime cries of wildlife; while Oliver Fenwick’s lighting follows the various moods with precision. Evoking the setting, too, are the costumes with their mix of muted beiges for the men and floating, art deco chic for the women.

The play moves at quite a pace. It is no spoiler to reveal that a gunshot closes act one while the discovery of a dead body introduces the second act. From here Poirot moves towards his conclusion in breathtaking time. Unusually, not everyone is a suspect – the detective has already narrowed it down a fair bit. That doesn’t prevent us from getting to know the delightful personalities that have followed each other (unwittingly or otherwise) onto the ship. Central to the piece are newlyweds Linnet (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) and Simon (Nye Occomore). Simon, unfortunately, was hitherto engaged to the furious Jacqueline de Bellefort (Esme Hough) who seems intent on some sort of revenge (but remember, all is not what it seems). Each performer is in tune with the requisite balance of light and shade – humour and suspense. Bob Barrett, as Poirot’s old friend and sidekick Colonel Race, is a delight to watch. Glynis Barber’s hack-writer-turned-ham-actress Salome provides wonderful comic relief. The cameos and ensemble are all as important as the lead players, but it is Alexandra-Cooper’s stage debut as Linnet that shines. A natural performer and a name to look out for.

A couple of clumsy moments are in danger of tripping up the otherwise slick flow, but the tour has only just set sail, and these will be ironed out in due course. Yet the confidence of the company steers it through its choppier moments. And the sense of fun is truly infectious. The customary denouement when Poirot calls everyone together for his summing up is greeted with derision by the characters as they momentarily break out of their roles. ‘I hate this part’, says Colonel Race. ‘I love it’ retorts Poirot. An epilogue, delivered direct to the audience, neatly gives us closure.

This interpretation of “Death on the Nile” has a style all of its own. There is only one verdict, really, and it doesn’t need a Belgian detective to spell it out. Go and see it for yourself. Et, viola… Mon ami!

RAGDOLL

Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

“a highly watchable cast, delivering line after line of snappy dialogue”

RAGDOLL

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 14th October 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

RAGDOLL

RAGDOLL

RAGDOLL

DEATH ON THE NILE

Richmond Theatre

★★★★

“Each performer is in tune with the requisite balance of light and shade – humour and suspense”

DEATH ON THE NILE

Richmond Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 9th October 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Manuel Harlan

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DEATH ON THE NILE

DEATH ON THE NILE

DEATH ON THE NILE

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