The Case Of The Frightened Lady

From a company that has given us many great stagings of Agatha Christie they now delve into the world of Edgar Wallace, more classic who-dunnits, but on this occasion it was the author what done it!

The evening starts with the curtain rising on a monumentally impressive set, visually successful but dramatically the downfall of this lumbering production. In the game Cluedo each room plays a part, each excepting the hall. Here the entire plot is uncovered, verbally, in a hall with members of the cast making dizzying entrances and hardly anyone ever sitting down. It must have been as exhausting for the cast as it certainly was for the audience.

And whilst the cast did a decent job of it they were not helped by perhaps the clumsiest and least atmospheric lighting that I have ever seen on a stage. That said they were given a fine set of costumes with the lady of the manor having almost more frocks than she had lines!

The story is reasonable enough but unlike a Christie the characters lack warmth and there isn’t an ounce of humour from start to finish.

Theatre Royal Brighton

25 June

Andrew Kay

[rating: 2/5]