Stage: Murder in the Park

A season of deadly thrillers hits Eastbourne theatres

A set of chilling plays are sure to take the edge off any summer weather in Eastbourne with Murder In The Park – A Thriller Season. With a new production for every week in the month of June; Devonshire Park Theatre holds host to four intriguing stories of murder.

The world premiere of Brian Clemens’ Murder Weapon kicks off this delicious selection starring Marcus Hutton, Ben Roddy and Philip Stewart. When a chief constable accompanies her friend home one night to find her dead husband and an ex-convict on the scene, it all seems like a simple open and shut case. As the constable and her colleague begin to investigate further, the murderer’s identity seems less straight forward.

Francis Durbridge’s Suddenly At Home follows in Murder Weapon’s footsteps, however this time we stumble into a story of love and greed when adulterer Glenn Howard plans to get rid of his wealthy wife in order to gain a new lover and a lot of money. Marcus Hutton also joins this production along with Patric Kearns and Lara Lemon.

With a slight comic relief running through a sinister theme, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap deals with deceit and plagiarism as wellknown playwright Sidney Bruhl intends to steal the work of his protege and pass it off as his own. As you can probably guess by now, not all plans are foolproof and don’t be surprised when things don’t go his way.

To end the season as deadly as it began, make no mistake that Marcus Lloyd’s Dead Certain will not hold anything back. When out-of-work actor Michael is offered a large amount of money to act out a play written by housebound ex-dancer Elizabeth, the evening starts fairly pleasantly. The more the play continues to unfold, the more Michael starts to doubt the innocence of Elizabeth.

Following the success of last year’s Murder In The Park season, Brighton based producer Talking Scarlet is once again working on these exciting thrillers ready to keep you on the edge of your seat come June.

Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne, Tuesday 4 June–Saturday 29 June, 2.30pm & 7.45pm, £14–£19, 01323 412000, www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk