The Accused

Following a very warm welcome from Chairman, Wendy Fisher, we entered the Guildhall to find it had been transformed into a courtroom.

This Jeffrey Archer play in simple terms is very straightforward. The scene is The Old Bailey and as you would expect there are barristers, witnesses, a defendant, a few other court officials and a Judge. This summary does not even scratch the surface of this very ambitious piece and it is a tour de force for any society brave enough to take it on. The play relies very heavily on a group of talented actors who can, without prompting, reel off pages and pages of dialogue whilst maintaining the interest and involvement of the audience who come to play a very important part later.

The first person that we meet is the Jury Bailiff, Leslie Judd, who instructs and guides us through the maze of legal jargon and generally looks after us as we are the jury. He clearly relished this part and with clarity and wit carried off his role very well.

At this point we are introduced to the barristers, Sir James Barrington – Richard Able and Miss Kersley – Amberlee Marshall. Between them this pairing absolutely nailed the delivery, the pace, and the characters of this mismatched pair. Line after line came spouting forth with a positive, assured air that could only have come from many hours of rehearsal and a total belief in their ability to deliver them whilst remaining completely believable. They are ably assisted by their attendants Miss Ashton – Cally Witt and Mr Jarvis – Liam Baker.

Overseeing proceedings is Justice Cartwright (Sky Carver) who has a reputation that both barristers feel they can exploit. But people do not become Judges for no reason and she demonstrates a strong personality that is easily a match for their little games. Her character is strong and she takes no prisoners when she needs to make a point. This is a difficult part because of the long periods of listening to evidence but still maintaining a thoughtful, attentive presence but it was handled well by an experienced performer.

As proceedings get under way we meet the witnesses, each relaying their version of events to us the jury. DCI Payne (Carol Storey) who explains how this had gone from a simple heart attack case to murder. Mr Webster (Paul Ketteridge), the caretaker, convincing us that he had heard more than one voice in the flat and what about the doctors’ bag. The Pharmacist (Lorna Hutchinson) who had to fill out those unusual prescriptions. The expert witness Professor Forsyth (Rebecca Pooley) who instructed us in toxicology and how it could be used but remain undetected. Finally, the other woman Jenny Mitchell (Amanda Mason) displaying all the emotions of a hurt lover, a lady with hidden depths and a fantasist with extensive medical knowledge. Taken as a group these characters helped to build the tension, deliver the red herrings and generally sustain the belief of what we were listening to. These parts would have been so easy to caricature but all of them, like the other characters were completely believable.   

Whilst all of this is going on sitting quietly in the dock, until instructed not to by his barrister, is Dr Sherwood (Ian Ding) the defendant. This suave, assured man is thoroughly convincing as a leading thoracic surgeon and when he gets his opportunity in the second half to tell his story he undermines almost all that we have heard from the various witnesses. Ian’s acting experience shows through and the action and dialogue quicken as we race towards the verdict. This was another top-notch performance.

It would be unfair not to mention the court usher (Teresa Sayers) who was always on hand to show pieces of evidence and generally fetch and carry.

It was apparent that director Anthony Maley understood all that was required to keep us guessing and how to get strong performances from this very strong cast whilst maintaining a good pace.  A very good, entertaining, evening and it was nice to see the audience still discussing the verdict on their way out. Well done Players.

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