PICTURE YOU DEAD
Novelist Peter James is a prolific global success. His Roy Grace novels hit the best seller lists around the world and are translated into many languages. But do they translate to the stage?
Peter Ash. Photo: Alastair Muir
Having seen all of the stage versions over the last decade or so some do and do so well, and others, well others are hampered by the confines of theatre when the action takes place across a wide landscape.
Picture You Dead falls neatly into the first category with the action taking place tidily in three interior locations. And this time the set is cleverly conceived and works well. The set is in fact rather traditional in form and interestingly so is the structure and the direction of this his newest play.
I suspect that the more recent ITV adaptations have influenced the way his work is being brought to the stage. In no way can these theatrical adaptations echo the lavish locations, gritty realism and vast budgets expended on the TV films so the rather more traditional approach for stage seems like the right way to go.
And traditional they are, not so much who dunnits as how they dunnit. In many of the Grace novels we know the perpetrators from page one and the fascination comes from seeing Grace work out exactly who, where and why, with plenty of twists along the way. He is the master of the twist and turn for sure and this offering, set in the shady world of high art and forgery, is packed with them.
George Rainsford & Gemma Stroyan. Photo: Alastair Muir
It works on many levels, the intrigue is there for sure, those twists and turns, and George Rainsford is a credible Grace, to my mind far more so than John Simm. It’s not an easy role to embrace and the reason for that is that the character has been around some time, many years before we were presented with an actor, so for many we have in our heads our own version of Roy.
Gemma Stroyan makes a marvellous Bella Foy complete with her ubiquitous bag of Maltesers, Mark Oxtoby a solidly unpleasant criminal and Nicholas Maude a thoroughly unpleasant Piper, all shiny suits, camp affectations and pony tail.
Nicholas Maude & Jodie Steele. Photo: Alastair Muir
Jodie Steele has the most fun playing Roberta Kilgore, an art “dealer” with an evil touch. It must be such fun to play although at times her American accent made more changes than the Trump administration.
Fiona Wade & Ben Cutler. Photo: Alastair Muir
Ben Cutler’s Harry Kipling was delightfully affable, the kindly builder and devoted husband and Fiona Wade was rather good in the less demanding role of his wife Freya, I only wish that she had been given more to play with in the role.
It was also nice to see moments of genuine comedy this time, the Antiques Roadshow moment brought to life by Adam Morris, all striped blazer and dickie bow tied and the reference to Grace’s missing first wife Sandy brought a large laugh from those of us who know.
Fiona Wade & Peter Ash. Photo: Alastair Muir
The stand out performance of the evening though has to go to Peter Ash, hot from a long and demanding role in Coronation Street and proving that soap stars can actually deliver. His portrayal of “reformed” art forger, Dave Heggarty, based on Brighton’s own reformed art forger David Henty, now working legitimately as a copiest, was full of charm and character and he was perhaps the most believable manifestation on the stage.
Picture You Dead is a fun night of classic crime theatre, the plot unfolds neatly and the cast keep the pace brisk and sharp. It will certainly keep fans of the books happy. The moments of real terror are tightly delivered, not overly gruesome but tough enough to make you wince.
If you want your crime hard and unpleasant then stick to the books, if you want an entertaining night of theatre then you can’t go far wrong with this.
Andrew Kay
4 March
Theatre Royal Brighton
Rating:
