Tag Archives: Martin Turner

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution

★★★★★

London County Hall

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Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution

London County Hall

Reviewed – 30th September 2021

★★★★★

 

“Lucy Bailey’s staging is inspired, clever and inventive”

 

Situated on the South Bank of the Thames, London County Hall is watched over by Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. Sitting at its centre is the magnificent splendour of the octagonal Council Chamber. Since the First World War it served as the headquarters of local government for London. Back in the 1980s Ken Livingstone would lock horns with Margaret Thatcher while the façade of the Hall served as a billboard for opposition slogans; seen from the austere, Gothic windows of the Palace of Westminster. Today the banners tell a different story, inviting us to witness another courtroom battle altogether. Agatha Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution”, published as a short story in 1925 in a weekly pulp magazine, was eventually adapted by the author herself into a play which opened in London in the fifties. Lucy Bailey’s unique production has been running at London County Hall for four years now and, although still far behind ‘The Mousetrap’ it looks set to follow suit in its longevity.

We are summoned into the chambers, settling into the leather-bound, high-backed seats; some of us in the gallery and a dozen hand-picked audience members led to the jury’s bench. It is the perfect setting for a courtroom drama. The solemnity of the atmosphere would seemingly leave little for the design team to do, but Chris Davey’s lighting and, in particular, Mic Pool’s chilling sound design immediately let you know the proceedings are about to start. One of the most stunning preludes in the West End then gives way to the action that unfolds before us: a story of truth and lies, guilt and innocence, defence, and prosecution. A tale where words are twisted as ruthlessly as the plot.

Leonard Vole (Joe McNamara), a ‘between-jobs’ mechanic has been accused of murdering a wealthy, older woman with whom he struck up a close friendship. A friendship that Detective Inspector Hearne (Christopher Dickens) casts in dubious shades. Vole’s wife (or is she?) stands by him (or does she?). Sir Wilfrid Robarts takes on his defence and believes in his innocence (or does he?). It would be criminal of me to answer the questions here, though I think I can get away with saying that any second guessing is probably a waste of time.

Agatha Christie was fascinated by the idea of deceiving an audience, and she was an expert at it. We don’t know who’s done what until the very end. There is a huge responsibility for a stage adaptation to respect that, and this cast would have won her trust in the strike of a judge’s gavel. McNamara’s Leonard Vole is the picture of innocence and naivety, digging a hole for himself with his self-proclaimed candid honesty. But you get the sense he has dug his own bunker too, into which he has stashed the real truth. A spell-binding performance that has us questioning as much as the prosecution. Jonathan Firth as Sir Wilfrid takes on his defence with a sparkling, almost camp relish. Firth is a delight to watch, commanding the stage. Most of the action takes place in the courtroom but some of the most poignant scenes take place in Wilfrid’s chambers. The banter between Firth and the wonderful Teddy Kemper (playing defence lawyer Mr Mayhew) gives a true insight into the dichotomy and duplicity required to tread the boards of the courtroom.

Into this world steps Romaine Vole, the German refugee wife of the accused, shaking the foundations of this male oriented inner circle. Emer McDaid’s coquettish, cool, calculating charisma confounds both the council and the audience. She supports her husband’s alibi, then denounces it, then… well – my lips are sealed. She is a woman you ‘wouldn’t trust with your laundry’. A riveting performance, in line with the rest of the cast. Lighter moments are thrown in with precision timing, courtesy of Martin Turner’s dry and sardonic Mr Justice Wainwright.

Lucy Bailey’s staging is inspired, clever and inventive. Despite the head start she was given by the setting. As the play nears its close the jury are asked to deliver their verdict. You think that’s that. But no, there’s more. I shan’t reveal what the summing up is. But, ladies and gentlemen, you should have no difficulty reaching your verdict on this glorious adaptation. It really must be witnessed.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ellie Kurttz

 

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution

London County Hall until August 2022

 

Five star shows this year:
Shook | ★★★★★ | Online | February 2021
Bklyn The Musical | ★★★★★ | Online | March 2021
Cruise | ★★★★★ | Duchess Theatre | May 2021
Preludes in Concert | ★★★★★ | Online | May 2021
Overflow | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | May 2021
Reunion | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | May 2021
Bad Days And Odd Nights | ★★★★★ | Greenwich Theatre | June 2021
In My Own Footsteps | ★★★★★ | Book Review | June 2021
The Hooley | ★★★★★ | Chiswick House & Gardens | June 2021
Breakin’ Convention 2021 | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | July 2021
Sh!t-Faced Macbeth | ★★★★★ | Leicester Square Theatre | July 2021
Starting Here, Starting Now | ★★★★★ | Waterloo East Theatre | July 2021
Operation Mincemeat | ★★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | August 2021
Cinderella | ★★★★★ | Gillian Lynne Theatre | August 2021

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

The Son

The Son

★★★★★

Duke of Work’s Theatre

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The Son

The Son

Duke of York’s Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd September 2019

★★★★★

 

“an ordinary play in so many ways, and yet it is simultaneously extraordinary”

 

Everything about The Son is arresting. It is difficult to watch and even harder not to.

This is the final play in Florian Zeller’s loosely connected familial trilogy, which began with 2012’s The Father. Here we join Anne (Amanda Abbington) and Pierre (John Light), a divorced couple who must reconnect for the sake of their only son. Nicolas (Laurie Kynaston) has been a completely different person since the divorce, and now Anne can no longer cope with his self-isolation, anger, or (as of late) truancy. Moving in with Pierre and his new girlfriend Sofia (Amaka Okafor) seems like the solution – but what was the problem to begin with? As Nicolas’ thoughts begin to unravel, so does his family’s belief in the son they thought they knew.

The Son is an ordinary play in so many ways, and yet it is simultaneously extraordinary. This is apparent even before the play begins. The sight of Lizzie Clachan’s set – a chic suburban living room flooded with symbolic pieces of debris – is enough to indicate the carefully constructed tumult that is to follow.

It is only afterwards that these objects (children’s toys, a mounted deer head) really strike the observer as important. This is because, for all the busyness on stage, it is the actors that draw all the focus. Laurie Kynaston is utterly believable as Nicolas. He stays clear of melodramatic clichés and instead pools the depths of Zeller’s writing to draw out an emotionally authentic character. John Light is fascinating to watch as Pierre, a flawed yet deeply caring father whose frustration manifests itself in uncomfortable ways. Despite the unsavoury aspects of his character, Light humanises Pierre, making his position understandable if not agreeable. Amaka Okafor transforms Sofia into a complex character, a woman who is both loving and resentful of her volatile stepson. Okafor surprises in every scene, and is able to navigate the twists and turns of her character with flair. There is strong support from Amanda Abbington, who is sadly not present enough throughout the story. When she is present, however, she radiates love and warmth, an ideal balance to Light’s ferocity.

Whilst Zeller is evasive about the details of Nicolas’ illness, he pulls no punches with how it is presented. He wrings every last drop of emotion from the scenarios he presents, investing every one with a subtly disarming twist. Zeller’s approach – to turn his characters inside out and hold them up for all to see – makes The Son all the more difficult to watch. There is a universal sense of pain here: this family is not particularly special, not marked by excessive trauma, but in many ways just ordinary, in a way that makes its dissolution even crueller. It is clear that Nicolas is surrounded by love, just not the right kind. And we as an audience know that it will never be the right kind – but we still fall in love with those moments of laughter and lightness that suggest it might be so. The vague accumulation of dread sits uneasily within these moments of joy in what is a true emotional test for even most disconnected audience member.

Beautifully and assuredly executed, The Son may mark a completion of a trilogy, but is surely the sign of many more great works to come.

 

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Marc Brenner

 

ATG Tickets

The Son

Duke of York’s Theatre until 2nd November

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Rosmersholm | ★★★★ | May 2019

 

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