★★★

“The dialogue throughout is intricate and precise”

Oh, to be young and free. To have one’s whole life ahead of you. Well, all is not as it seems. Dick is a powerful immersion into the dangerous desires of youth and the burden of potential – the idea that you could be anything, but will you be something?

Five friends reach the age of 26 and become afraid that ‘their youth’ may be behind them. No, not afraid, rather obsessed. Despite their obvious youth, they feel an urgency to push the boundaries without any caution and with dangerous consequences. The show is an exploration of love, lust and the unexpected precariousness of self-indulgence.

We start with the friends dancing in a nightclub. The mood is euphoric and joyous. We quickly move to a heated discussion about their differing views on sex. This is where our central characters emerge. The protagonist of the show, Noah, is remarkably condescending and masquerades his ignorance as intelligence. He insists on being right and ensures he is by interrupting those who disagree and hides his insecurity by living in the hypothetical rather than reality. Joseph Lynch is very impressive in the role.

The others emerge in this debate too. Bailey is quieter but the fire within their soul is unmistakeable. Andi Bickers is an unstoppable force in the role. Ruby (Frederick Russell) is vibrant and vivacious and provides the necessary antidote to Noah. Our remaining two characters are Ruby’s sister, Cleo (Nina Fidderman), and friend River (Max Brennan), who allow us to see the story through other perspectives.

The dialogue throughout is intricate and precise, which allows us to see a range of angles on the key themes. However, it is slightly too detailed. Because of this it feels like the punchlines don’t always land, and in fact, it often feels like the most action is happening when there is the least talking.

Significant plot events are marked by live costume changes. This is a smart addition as otherwise the scene changes would be sudden and unobvious. Credit must go to Katie Shores (costume design) as this forms a critical driver of the plot. The friends start the show wearing bright clothes but move to more greyscale outfits as the scenes darken.

Initially, it seems that Noah will be our martyr for the cause of hedonism and soul-searching. Of course, he would like it to be him. “I would die if I thought I would get away with it,” he tells us. But the show is not just an exploration of one’s own path to self-destruction. It is a warning about the effects that one’s self-indulgence can have on others, who often end up with greater suffering. “You are addicted to poison, and it comes out of your mouth,” Bailey tells Noah. This is the punchline that the show does manage to land, and the production makes great use of audio (Polly Dacam) and visual effects (Harriet White) to do this.

The development of the characters of Noah, Ruby and Bailey is excellent. However, it feels like five characters may be too many for this story. Max Brennan and Nina Fidderman are exceptionally composed and accurate as River and Cleo respectively. However, we don’t see enough of them, and their performances deserve a greater part of the story. Moreover the show is too long, with the length not commensurate to the amount of plot that we watch.

However, the critical element of this show is not its shortfalls in areas of the drama. It is what it warns us about, the real experiences of young people and the dangers of over-indulgence.

MURDER, SHE DIDN’T WRITE

Duchess Theatre

★★★★

“The direction is astounding to maintain a delicate balance between a comedy and the central ‘whodunit.’”

Over 13 years since its first performance, Murder, She Didn’t Write is still touring and delighting audiences more than ever as it embarks on a UK tour in 2025. It is an intriguing spin on the classic murder mystery, a narrative framework that, despite the ‘murder,’ we feel comfortable with as we have seen it many times before.

However, it is certain that we haven’t seen this one before. Every night the stars of Degrees of Error act out a new storyline based on plot points that are yet to be determined. Agatha Crust, an obvious nod to the godmother of the genre, is our detective. She chooses one lucky audience member to perform the role of Jerkins, her assistant. From this point on, Jerkins holds the pen as they choose the setting, murder weapon, victim and murderer in this one-off recount. But don’t worry, all is not uncovered until the big reveal.

The play starts slowly as our characters are introduced and the scene is set. Credit should go to the set design (Justin Williams) for producing a backdrop that works remarkably well; however, the story unfolds. Credit should also go costume design and supervisor (Lu Herbert and Charlotte Murray). The costumes are expositions about the characters that we are watching, adding depth and reference and helping us to easily differentiate between our suspects.

The actors take a short time to work their way into the narrative. Most of the first act is about planting the seed for what is to follow. Countless random details are divulged by each of the characters. Some of these will be red herrings, others will be smoking guns. The quick wit of all the cast members is side-splitting. “Waitrose” becomes “Wait Rose!” and “synesthetic” becomes “sin aesthetic” as the audience’s suggestions and earlier events are woven into the narrative.

At times it feels like the show is starting to lose its course before Agatha regains control. The direction (Lizzy Skrzypiec, who also sometimes stars as Agatha) is astounding to maintain a delicate balance between a comedy and the central ‘whodunit.’

Agatha, on stage for the entire performance, is a comforting presence as she watches the story alongside us. It is an exceptional performance as the glue of a production that, despite the impressive improvisation of all of the cast, would possibly not function without her. Predictably, Agatha steals the show in the final chapter when she moves from narrator to detective, and explains, in front of all of the suspects, who committed the murder, just like Poirot did in Murder on the Orient Express. It is a delivery so strong that we are told not why it could be this suspect but how it must be them and could not be anyone else.

The lighting and sound (Adam King and Lucy Baker-Swinburn) are critical to the show and help to steer the plot as much as any of the characters. The choice of music (Sara Garrard) is precise, which acts as an antidote to the chaos surrounding it. The use of short scenes, some as short as 30 seconds, is effective in contributing to the rising tension in the second act, but it does feel as though the play suffers from a lack of continuity, and thus an over-reliance on our narrator.

Despite the characters knowing who the murderer is (before the audience), as we approach the crescendo, we fear that there are too many storylines still spinning, like a magician spinning too many plates. However, we see that none of these spinning plates smash as we are watching magicians on stage.

Tag Archives: Luke Goscomb

DICK

★★★

Drayton Arms

DICK

Drayton Arms

★★★

“The dialogue throughout is intricate and precise”

DICK

Drayton Arms

Reviewed on 17th April 2025

by Luke Goscomb

Photography by Abigail Dawn

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SARAH QUAND MÊME | ★ | February 2024

DICK

DICK

DICK

MURDER, SHE DIDN’T WRITE

★★★★

Duchess Theatre

MURDER, SHE DIDN’T WRITE

Duchess Theatre

★★★★

“The direction is astounding to maintain a delicate balance between a comedy and the central ‘whodunit.’”