Deathtrap

This was an absorbing play excellently produced and very well acted indeed.  It was the story of two playwrights conferring over the plot of a play called Deathtrap. Sidney Bruhl and Clifford Anderson were discussing the play and were planning the final act.  When Sidney couldn't agree with Clifford he killed him. Sidney and his wife, Myra, removed the body outside and began to cover things up.  Myra was far from happy and relations between her and Sidney were strained, all because of the play.  Sidney and Clifford were also at loggerheads before he died. When during a heated moment Clifford appeared from outside it was too much for Myra, and she died of a heart attack. During all the mayhem a visitor arrived name of Helga ten Dorp, a type of spiritualist,  and she predicted the outcome and said certain people would die.

After Myra's death the two began to finish the play. When Clifford left the house for a while Sidney began to read the play after forcing open the drawer in which Clifford had locked it, and exchanged it for his own. When Clifford arrived back he realised something was wrong, and began to type his own play. In the meantime, a solicitor in the person of Porter Milgrim arrived to sort out Myra's estate, and gave his opinions. Helga arrived back and confirmed her opinions. Ira Levin's play certainly kept you in your seat. 

Sidney Bruhl was excellently played by David Curtis, who really made the Drama because of his facial expressions and actions, and was really strong and powerful throughout his performance. His wife was well played by Alice Johnson, even after her death we weren't sure whether she had died, with the one death earlier in the play, this could have been another red herring. Clifford Anderson was also brilliantly played by Dan Cockett. He was much the quieter of the two, and got on with his job. Helga ten Dorp was well played by Jackie McLeod, in the Madame Arcati mould.  Porter Milgrim  was also well portrayed by Gary Winn. The play set in Westport, Connecticut in 1978,and the cast really kept the American accent up well. The director, Mike Walker, really did a first class job with all the technical, and complicated stage directions, and the cast did him proud with their presentation of the script to provide an excellent night’s entertainment. Well done Richmond.

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