The Moonstone

~~Written originally as a serial publication in 1867 by William Wilkie Collins, a protégé of  Charles Dickens the Moonstone is credited as being the world’s first detective story. This was Nick Warburton’s first adaptation for the stage and he has taken the tale and turned it to an engaging piece of theatre, a story full of complexities causing interesting obstacles to overcome, the main being the multitude of characters. Warburton got over this in a theatrical manner by taking the servants of the Verindor family and turning them into the actors to explain the goings on. Confusing? Possibly, but Thespians handled this admirably and for the majority of the time it was clear and easy to follow as the plot twisted and turned on its merry way as we tracked down the stolen Moonstone. Staging was simple and monochrome with rich red and orange added to the colour palette running through the set and costumes. Make-up and hair was to period and appropriate to the piece. The characters were drawn well and dialogue delivered with control and care that assisted in the story telling, Mr Luka was particularly well drawn and Wilkins and Dora making a lovely well matched pairing. Act 1 needed focus and attention by the audience but by the act 2 the mood changed and zaniness began, an interesting tale which was intelligent and well received while bringing the tales of the better known Sherlock Holmes to mind…..Taunton Thespians took a risk with this unknown drama and it worked.

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