Audience with Murder

REPORT FOR:- 

“Audience with Murder” by Roger Leach & Colin Wakefield

Production given by Exmouth Players 

Directed by Clare Philbrock

Performance: Blackmore Theatre, Bicton Street, Exmouth, East Devon

Monday 29th September 2025 

Reviewed by:  Nick Lawrence, Past President standing in for Regional Representative 6:

The reference to the layers of an onion, clearly defined this intriguing play.  As each layer was removed another twist was revealed and another unexpected situation arose.  Although I had seen it before, and various moments prompted the memory, I was still constantly taken by surprise.  By the end, the many twists and turns of the strained relationships of the characters had tested the brains of the first-night audience.  In fact, I gather, some patrons were planning to come again later in the week to catch the nuances they had missed along the way.  What a wonderful script this was; most entertaining and definitely extremely thought-provoking.

The director and her four actors had certainly given plenty of thought to the depths of the characters and their interactions.  Each actor portrayed their roles that were so recognisable with just a touch of the amateur nature of the drama group of which the characters were members.  The dialogue was presented in a very naturalistic way, with excellent clarity of delivery, intelligent understanding and effective timing.  No line was thrown away, even when probably not considered the most relevant.  The pauses, which littered the script, were beautifully timed.  The actors were well versed in the changing atmosphere and tone of the scenes, and some extremely tense situations were engendered.  While the well-written script determined the mood of each scene, the actors certainly created the appropriate atmosphere and climaxes were well timed.  

Each character was subtly contrasted to the others.  These contrasts, which were so important to the play as a whole, had been well considered, prepared and rehearsed.  Maintaining the reality of the portrayals; there was clarity in the many variations, which kept the audience on edge throughout.

Set in a middle-class suburban home with hall and kitchen access, the vibrant set made the small Blackmore stage look wide, while concentrating attention on the four actors who were, in accordance with the script, gathered around the dinner room table.  Movement about the room, when required, seemed perfectly natural: these people were familiar with the room.   The sparseness of ornaments and pictures emphasised the directness of the home owners, and the incredible tidiness of the kitchen beyond was almost scary.    The positioning of the collection of bottles up-stage-centre really emphasised the elephant-in-the-room – alcohol.  It was pretty obvious that, with the amount of alcohol consumption, things would not go well. Props had this well covered, with a variety of bottles and glasses, suitable for every requirement.

Careful consideration had been put into the costumes of the four actors.  The colour scheme from the potential ‘tart’ displaying long legs to the indecisive newcomer, was subtle and yet seemed perfectly natural at the first sight.  It was only later on in the play that the chosen colours and styles became obviously chosen to reflect the character within.

There were some clever lighting adjustments, giving added atmosphere to the already tense dialogue.  The contrast between the brightness of the kitchen and hall and the shadows around Sylvia was very effective.  It certainly felt that the atmosphere would be freer outside the room than in.

The warning given before the performance did nothing to alleviate the shock of the extremely loud gun-shots.  A number of the audience took off from their seats.  This was so effective and absolutely right for the moment concerned.  Many practitioners would have shied away from this intensity, but it couldn’t have been more appropriately over-the-top.  

The bodies were very well played.  Their different positions after death were very interesting and worked so well in the following scene.  This was another example of the careful thought that had been put into the planning.  I can say no more, in case the reader should ever wish to see this play.  I can thoroughly recommend it, but I shall not give away anything.

As is usually the case with this director, thought had been given to preparing the audience for what it is about to witness.  The usual excellent Blackmore programme, contained a section which purported to be the newsletter of the amateur drama club which is at the centre of the play.   It gave bits of news which were nicely relevant to the coming script and highlighted some of the less obvious issues.  This was very interesting and humorous to read fully when one got home: a very nice touch. 

“Audience with Murder” is certainly a play which covers many relevant issues which are considered in many other plays, but in this one, they are presented together and in a real situation in which members of NODA might find themselves.  It is a super play and the four actors are taxed to the full.  These four actors and their director certainly unravelled the many twists and turns and created a fascinating whole.  This was a very successful performance of a complicated play thanks to thorough preparation, effective rehearsal, total commitment and excellent team-work.  Consider yourself extremely unlucky if you missed this production.  

Nick Lawrence

30th September 2025

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