Deathtrap

This production of “Deathtrap” was billed as a true thriller. This was certainly a perfectly correct description. The impressive set was a lounge with many guns, swords, handcuffs and various deadly implements. We encounter at first four seemingly normal people and one other person in this plot who all but one, through the desire of becoming rich, harbour thoughts of murder and then attempt to bring them to fruition.

The playwright is Sidney Bruhl (Martin Sworn), who has not had a success for many years and would dearly like to get his hands on his wife’s wealth. This man’s serious mood was well characterised thoughout as he acted out the part of a cold calculating killer. 

The devoted wife Myra Bruhl (Sarah Johnson) sympathetically played the faithful and obedient spouse not even realising that her heart attack death was brought on by the careful planning of her husband.  

Clifford Anderson (Zahir White), formerly Sidney’s student, coped with ease the large amount of dialogue that the part required and many twists and turns in temperament before the two aforementioned writers  both meet an untimely demise through their own greed.

Helga ten Dorp (Emily Dadson) was the “Mystic Meg” of the production causing problems for the two men as she foretold the outcome of their plotting. She spoke in a convincing Germanic accent and caused the few moments of humour in this dark tale.

Porter Milgrim (Jason Evans) was the solicitor who had no inkling of the intended murders and was only embroiled when Helga had spilt the beans to him about them through her psychic powers. He then joins the bandwagon in the queue for the money.

I am usually not keen on plays that have no definitive endings but this production was different. Having seen ninety-nine per cent of the plot enacted and three dead bodies, the question is posed as the curtain closes of - will that be the final number or will there be one or even two more. It is up to the individual member of the audience to assess the conclusion of the play. This was a very clever piece of writing by Ira Levin and extremely well enacted by the entire cast. Congratulations to all on stage and the production team.  

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