As we lead up to the Halloween season it is perhaps the perfect time for a creepy night at the theatre and this new touring play
Murder in the Dark from Original Theatre written by Torben Betts, provides just that. Set in a creepy little barn-turned-cottage in the back of beyond, washed-out boy band singer Danny Sierra and his family find themselves at the mercy of the equally creepy Mrs Bateman following a car crash. After their arrival, secret after secret becomes revealed and family history is unpicked before things take an even weirder turn.
Danny is played by familiar TV actor Tom Chambers and he gives a very solid, but at times over-the-top performance. In many shows, this would be a problem, however here it perfectly fits the story being told, as writer Betts splatters everything across the walls in this broad-stroke play. This is modern film horror brought to the stage where shocks come from often obvious places, yes we have a crazy barking dog for instance, and music stings pervade the air. Chambers' character very much goes through the wringer as his life before and after his successful world of music is picked apart.
Doing much of the picking is the all-knowing Mrs Bateman, played with a glorious mix of humour and sinisterness by the brilliant Susie Blake, a veteran of TV and quite a huge amount of theatre. Here she effortlessly steals every scene she appears in. It is a very cleverly constructed performance, from posture to delivery, and credit for how she envelopes this role must go to both her and director Philip Franks for crafting her so superbly from Bettss’ script.
The rest of the cast is equally excellent. Northampton-born Laura White portrays Sarah, the aggravated put-upon girlfriend of Danny extremely well, having to deal with his endlessly frustrating and drunken behaviour. Equally exasperated at Danny is his ex-wife Rebecca, played with a more calm style of anger by Rebecca Charles, nicely balancing White.
Someone who does let out his anger fully, especially later in proceedings is Danny’s son Jake, played superbly by relative newcomer Jonny Green. Finally completing the cast is Owen Oakeshott as Danny’s brother William. Oakeshott suffers somewhat from an underwritten character by Betts, but he does however provide much of the best comedy from the play (that Blake doesn’t steal), and yes, this is as funny a play as it is creepy. There are as many laugh-out-loud moments as gasps of shock as things get more and more mysterious.
Betts' play takes place on a delightfully rickety set from Simon Kenny complete with occasionally wobbly and stuttering walls and misbehaving doors, which, despite their likely not required appearance, do add a quirky atmosphere to the show. Lighting from Paul Pyant also adds the required mysteriousness as well to make the hairs occasionally tingle a little.
As things develop in the second half, the story and its twists (which won’t appear here, so don’t worry) do occasionally derail the coherence of the story. However, while the audience might leave the show not totally sure what just happened, they will, I am sure be satisfied by the evening.
Murder in the Dark is immense fun, straddling a number of genres during its two hours. It is never a classic, but so much more than a disaster and highly recommended. It provides shocks and laughs all the way along and director Franks keeps everything moving along at a nicely judged pace. A highly entertaining watch!
A delightful and intriguing evening of creepiness!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance reviewed: Monday 16th October 2023 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.
Murder in the Dark is at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 21st October 2023.
