Programme
Based on an Agatha Christie short story, which was made into a 1953 Billy Wilder film with Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton, this stage production of "Witness for the Prosecution" is a gripping, roller-coaster courtroom drama. It's a convoluted story of murder, deceit and revenge in which people are not what they first appear and which culminates with a real, and genuinely unexpected, twist in the tail.
It all centres around the charming and seemingly naieve Leonard Vole who is accused of murdering an elderly woman he had befriended. Despite the potential motive of being the main beneficiary of the murder victim's will, and plenty of circumstantial evidence stacking up against him, his defence team start out convinced of his innocence and highly motivated to prove it. Building their case, however, is not easy, especially when Vole's supposedly devoted wife seems strangely reticent about backing his story then ultimately testifies against him - leaving barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts with the tricky task of discrediting her. The story illustrates dramatically how first appearances can be deceptive and how, sometimes, we can deceive ourselves by seeing what we wish to see rather than what is actually there.
The action alternates between Sir Robarts' chambers and the court-room in which the subsequent trial takes place. There are no problems with production values as the set is beautifully constructed on multiple levels with witness box, prisoners dock, jury box and public gallery topped, at the highest level, by the judge's bench. The floor level doubles as the courtroom floor and, with additional furniture quickly wheeled in and the lights lowered, a passable representation of Sir Robarts chambers. And if there are only five members on the jury and only three persons in the public gallery that is excusable as the limitation of a touring company. In any case, with the addition of policemen and court officials making up around a dozen non-speaking extras populating the complex set it appears anything but sparse - courtrooms are, after all, generally quite spacious and not densely packed. Given the number of non-speaking roles one wonders whether they are drafted in from local actors at each venue.
The dialogue in the courtroom scene is a bit thin at times and not always entirely convincing but it keeps the story moving along at a fine pace and has a few good laughs from witty rejoinders thrown in for good measure. As the evidence unfolds we begin to doubt our initial assumptions and think and think again as to what really happened and who is the real villain in the piece. The fine cast is led by the commanding presence of Denis Lill who gives a grandiose performance as the stiffly formal defence barrister trying to get to the bottom of the case. It's great acting and we hang on every word waiting for the next revelation. Watson to his Holmes is Robert Duncan, familiar from TV's journalistic sitcom "Drop the Dead Donkey," as solicitor Mr. Mayhew adding a human touch to the proceedings. The object of their attention, Leonard Vole, played by Ben Nealon, is a charismatic young man who appears painfully 'nice' and impossibly naieve - certainly not, so it appears, the stuff that murderers are made from. Even as the evidence builds against him he never seems to quite appreciate the enormity of the trouble he is in. Honeysuckle Weeks plays the duplicitous wife and, whilst her German accent is none too convincing (more Queenie from Black Adder than Marlene Dietrich) and her acting is perhaps a bit too cold and unemotional, she certainly does at least look the part.
The story was unknown to me prior to seeing this production and on that basis it certainly has enough dead ends and red herrings to keep you guessing. One of Christie's best it most certainly is not, perhaps it loses a little in the translation to the stage, but it's a more than competent whodunnit (or perhaps we should say did-he-do-it) that will keep you on the edge of your seat and provide plenty of clues to discuss with your partner during the interval, and all of which leads to a conclusion which, I think, will come to most as a genuine surprise.
A murder mystery wrapped up in a gripping courtroom drama with a genuine twist in the tail. Well worth seeing.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net
Reproduce this article: This article is Copyright. You may, however, freely reproduce this article in whole or in part provided only that any parts thus reproduced are fairly represented as to their original intent and that the attribution of the author remains attached - ie. "Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net"