Trap for a Lonely Man

Trap for a Lonely Man is a “whodunit” so to explain the plot would be to give away the mystery, suffice it to say that the wife of The Man went missing whilst they were skiing and he is desperately concerned as to her whereabouts, The Inspector is investigating and the Priest comforts with The Woman. The Tramp may hold the key and The Nurse and the Policemen are what they say. I was caught out by the final result, as were most of the audience.

The action all takes place in the room of the apartment of the Man ( Elliott Line)  He lives in a state of paranoia and agitation and you could feel for him as he agonises as to where his wife may be. The Inspector excellently portrayed by Richard Nicholls appears to befriend The Man whilst the Priest ( Colin Udall) seems to be too closely associated with the Woman ( Cassie Furey). Both parts are very much in evidence and were well presented. When she arrived in the action, the Tramp (Kirsty Bales-Hart) looked the part and was more influenced by booze and money that the truth. The Nurse ( Viginia Tennant) and the Policeman ( Jonathan O’Brien) completed the cast.

The action takes place at various times over two days. The constraints of the Studio makes for a very intimate performance, the audience sitting on one side of the square with the acting area in front of them. The facilities are very basic no set as such although there was a settee and a window, no great problem as the audience is so focussed on the dialogue. These very constrains meant that the company was also able to present  this play in a local pub a few days earlier. Very much peoples theatre.

Colin Udall produced the play, he was also the Priest, The action flowed and the dialogue was clear and although this play is a translation and is set in France, no attempt was made to use “accents” a device which I feel would have ruined the production. The audience, including me, were held guessing right to the end of the play, a testament to the director and cast.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.