Review of Broken Party at The Benn Hall, Rugby

Broken Party, now on stage at The Benn Hall, is the first production by the new theatre company Nerve Theatre. Written and directed by company founder Mia Ballard, it provides an impressive collection of twists and turns that will please thriller enthusiasts.

The story setup sees a gathering of the Lewis family to celebrate the birthday of Abigail. She is the daughter of Ann Lewis and the leading player, James, a high-flying lawyer who sets his stall out in the world as a supporter of the victims of society. However, as events unravel due to a television interview, is he the worthy man many believe him to be?

Ballard's script is a perfect smorgasbord of murder mystery aperitifs, a dinner party, and a collection of the most dislikeable individuals, each of whom is the ideal culprit for guilt.

The story is told in a single-location living room with little distraction and sees the Lewis family spar against one another following a somewhat awkward viewing of a TV show. The dialogue from Ballard is crisp, and for the best part, the performances are excellent.

Antony Newby takes on the challenging role of James with a deft approach, calm and assured in his initial position in life but quickly descending into a quivering mess following the arrival of "crisis manager" Josh Adams. James is unlikeable from the outset as his worthiness overflows in his attitude and disregard for events until he later has no control over them.

As Josh Adams, George Sutton is superb. He gives an assured, confident performance, the best of the cast. His initial scene solely with Newby is easily the best of the play. It sets up the dynamic between the two, which is crucial for the rest of the story.

Elsewhere, we have a mixture of characters, including James Burgess as Brady, the putdown only son of James and Ann, whose upbringing has left him feeling an inferior part of the family. Amber Rosen plays the frankly annoying daughter Abigail with admittedly little chance of making the character likeable.

Kimberly Thornhill's Ann, the wife of James, is somewhat underwritten, sadly often given just material to look distraught and react, which is a shame as the rest of the characters feel very well fleshed out. These also include Ella Lewis, daughter of James but not of Ann. In the role, Zoe Favell gives a heartfelt performance during some excellent sparky moments against Abigail and as she tells her own emotional story. Completing the main cast of players is Ben Clark as Abigail's partner, Patrick, who may or may not have a hidden history of his own.

Staging is excellent, bar the somewhat awkward creation of the television interview, featuring Mia Ballard as host Charley Lawrence and Jasmine Hudson as interviewee Laura Tate. Rather than set this to one side as it may have looked better, a more dynamic movement approach is adopted, which looks untidy at times and clumsy for the rest of the cast, who are viewing a relatively lengthy scene.

However, apart from this one issue, the rest of the play looks tremendous, and staging, which could be an issue for a single location, and a reasonably sized cast is never complicated or blocked in scenes.

Despite just a few staging and characterisation issues, Broken Party is an absorbing play. The intriguing story keeps you guessing until the end and will thrill any mystery fans on a cold night in January. It is also the perfect chance to support a new play and production company simultaneously, so everyone wins.

An excellent and always captivating murder mystery.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Friday, 10th January 2025, at Benn Hall, Rugby.

Broken Party runs at The Benn Hall until Saturday, 11th January 2025.

Further details about Nerve Theatre can be found at https://www.nervetheatre.co.uk/

Further details about Benn Hall can be found at https://uk.patronbase.com/_BennHall/Productions

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