Murder at Midnight begins with the police arriving at the scene of several murders in various parts of the “posh” house in Kent. Could this many really be the work of one murderer? As the story develops all the questions become clear.

Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ played by Jason Durr is a West End gangster living a life of luxury with his Mother played by Susie Blake and his girlfriend Lisa (Katie McGlynn). He apparently runs a legitimate pig farm business selling pork products. However, looking at the house it soon becomes clear what his real business is.

Lisa has been out at a New Year’s party and returns home with the “vicar” (Max Bowden) completely unaware that her boyfriend Johnny has returned from his trip. Shirley (Johnny’s bewildered Mother) has an obsession with tarot cards and is scared of what the cards have shown her! Things descend into mayhem before midnight and a New Year begins.

The star of the show for me is the downtrodden Trainwreck played by Peter Moreton. He is desperate to get on in life and works closely alongside Johnny, no matter how badly he is treated. Moreton delivers some excellent one-liners and is the most “honest” character throughout the play. A larger-than-life loveable rogue.

Colin Falconer’s set design shows the grandiose style of a stereotypical businessman in Johnny’s line of work and the office walls are plastered with Robbie Williams complete with a couple of gold discs on the wall, highlighting the admiration Johnny has for Williams. The cross-section of rooms allows the audience to watch several things taking place at once which is how day-to-day life in a home works. Although you don’t see the garden the outside wall gives you a sense of how large and well-maintained the outside space would be.

The storyline twists and turns throughout the play and you’re kept guessing until the end about who was really responsible for killing Johnny’s first wife Alex and their reason behind it.

Director Philip Franks on the whole has the comedy murder play running smoothly. However, there are times when the cast have their back to the audience and it’s not easy to hear them especially as the cast aren’t using microphones which in a large auditorium such as Fareham Live would help in projecting the voices to the whole audience. Certainly something worth considering in larger Theatres.

Murder at Midnight has a few flaws here and there. However, the cast are confident and work hard throughout the play, and as already mentioned the set and how it functions are well worth going to see.

For more information about Murder at Midnight and future productions at Fareham Live please use the link below.

Three and a half Stars.

Photo credit Pamela Raith.

https://www.murderplay.com/