Disposing of the Body

A typical structure for a Hugh Whitemore play, with the action interspersed with spot-lit soliloquies. This breaks the writing maxim of “show, don’t tell”, and yet it works beautifully, allowing a greater narrative span and a greater depth of thought than one would get from pure dialogue. The soliloquies are so well integrated with the drama that when Henry Preece (Steve Russell) described the behaviour of his wife, it fitted perfectly with the way Sally Whyte had played the part. It also allowed the affair between Henry and Joanna (Julie Lax), the wife of his neighbour, to be explored in a depth that could not have been staged.
The story spans multiple locations, but this was achieved with a simple set with three acting areas. A dining table was used for all the dining room and restaurant scenes (continually set and reset by Alla Mills as the silent waitress), a sofa was all that was needed for various living rooms and an upstage desk and chair became Henry’s study.
Inspector Poole, the police officer called to investigate the disappearance of Mrs Preece, ought to be a neutral role - one that could be played by either gender. However, despite the quality of Janet West’s playing, some of the speeches sounded as if they were written to be delivered by a man. It’s not that they were “bloke-ish” - it was philosophical reflection, not masculine bravado - yet there was a quality that didn’t seem right for a woman, even a hard-nosed sceptical policewoman.
Good playing all round, from the central characters (with some wonderfully natural giggling between Henry and Joanna) and from the supporting players, and at the heart of it we got a real feel for the Preeces’ disintegrating marriage and their inability to talk to each other about it.

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