Witness for the Prosecution

I was very excited as I walked into the foyer at Harleston to see Witness for the prosecution. A play I had not seen before and as always, the loveliest of welcomes greeted me. I was really looking forward to this production and I was definitely not disappointed.

The story is an Agatha Christie Drama set in a court room in Britain in the 1950s It goes through the trials and tribulations of a man who has been charged with murder. It involves a lot of different perceptions and emotions and how each character’s paths intwine with this one man. Did he or didn’t he do it?

Each and everyone of the cast acted their character superbly. Each role was suited to the individual cast member and you all did a wonderful job. The diction was clear and precise. Greta (Sarah Curtis) had the ditsy funny characterisation, Carter (Keith Stean) was very methodical in his approach, Mr Mayhew (Simon Evans) excellent solicitor great performance, Leonard Vole (Matt Bruty) wonderful acting very clever to be so naïve and vulnerable but cunning at the same time, Sir Wilfred Robarts (Grant Filshill) a typical lawyer portrayed the characteristics well and worked well with Mr Mayhew. Romaine (Meryl Keeble) fantastic acting, did with style and kept the accent throughout. Well done. Clerk of the court (Rhys Morgan) loved the comical moments and pompous attitude, Mr Myers QC (Barry Givens) enjoyed your quirky ways and mannerisms, the supporting roles all fitted well within the storyline and it looked like you were all enjoying the moment.

A nice old-fashioned set that was in keeping with the time. I really enjoyed the scenery being moved by the cast as part of the scene. It was effortless and there were no awkward pauses. This was a lovely touch.

The positioning of the actors in the round was fabulous you could see everyone at all times with the use of different levels and loved the fact they moved to different places in the scene to not make it static to the audience. Great direction from (David Cumming). I really liked the idea of the audience’s involvement, the fact we were the actual jury and someone reading out the oath was genius and the prisoner and policeman sat in the audience too.

As the audience were part of this production, it is essential to be able to follow everything that is going on and the cast did this extremely well.  I felt the audience knew exactly what was happening. This is not always easy to do, but you all did this with ease. Well done everyone.

Great props were used throughout the show and right for the era. I always love the realness of a performance with props and loved that the decanters were full with drink and were used.

The costumes were authentic for the show and looked ideal for each character.

The lighting was subtle and created the mood accordingly.

 I absolutely loved this performance from beginning to end, everyone’s hard work paid off. I loved the twist at the end, if honest I was not expecting it.  A brilliant night’s entertainment. Thank you, Harleston Players, and a huge congratulations to you all.

 

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