It’s for you-hoo?

19 September 2009 Clancy Walker All

OK, the WY Playhouse’s Autumn/Winter season offerings are either making my ‘job’ here very, very easy…or very, very hard!

I could, yet again, sum up my feelings for Lucy Bailey’s* ‘Dial M for Murder’ – now on until 3^rd October in the Courtyard Theatre (which, I have to say, I usually prefer ‘cos of the extra leg room on offer!) – with a one word review: “WOW!”.

The difficulty I face with this, however, is to write any more without giving away the plot of this truly gripping and – to quote my theatre buddy, ‘Dorothy’ – “utterly compelling play”, but I’ll give it a bash…

This is not so much a ‘who dunnit’, and, as a huge fan of ‘Columbo’, it’s therefore right up my alley.  The trench-coat wearing Inspector Hubbard says everything in line with this other great detective, short of “Just one more thing…” and “My wife is a big fan”! Just brilliant, and played beautifully by Des McAleer.

Speaking of being played beautifully, the rest of cast are pretty special too – and there are only another four to mention by name, so I’ll do it – Aislín McGuckin, Nick Fletcher, Richard Lintern and Daniel Hill.  A very talented bunch.  Aislín McGuckin, as Sheila Wendice, for me, though, also deserves a special mention for her truly haunted expressions and for looking drop dead gorgeous (all puns intended!) in the stunning costumes – I liked them, a lot.

Without going too ‘arty farty’, here, I have to also give special mention to the set – you’ll see what I mean – and also make reference to the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’, a concept and phrase coined by one Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  I swear I was sat in a flat in Maida Vale for two hours on Wednesday night.  Just breathtaking and truly engaging.

Be prepared to gasp, giggle and be ‘properly gripped’, and you’ll have a fabulous evening, I’m sure.  And just remember, there may be such a thing as perfection, but there’s no such thing as the perfect crime…

*Lucy Bailey also directed ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ – one of my two favourite stories adapted into the Film Noir genre,  the other being ‘Mildred Pierce’ – which premiered at the WY Playhouse and then went straight to the West End, and starred Val Kilmer.  Nuff said!