Skip to main content

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

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Only Fools and Horses - The Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The classic BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , created by John Sullivan and running for 22 years, holds a fond spot in the hearts of many. Even if you are not a fan, most are slightly familiar with the exploits of wheeler-dealer Del Boy and his lanky brother Rodney. However, who could think this could be the subject of a hit musical? Well, it turns out that Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, the son of the original writer, did, and it has to be said, in Del Boy lingo, it's proper lovely jubbly! Bringing iconic characters to the stage that the same actors have played for so many years presents a challenge to any performer; however, without exception, director Caroline Jay Ranger and her team have assembled a stellar cast. Leading the action is, of course, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, played by Sam Lupton with all the energy and wideboy manner of the legendary David Jason. Lupton looks the part, sounds the part, even, of course, in song, but even manages to add his own charm to ...

Review of Immune by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The cover note for the script of Oladipo Agboluaje's Immune describes it as "a challenging science fiction play with a large cast", and the word challenging in this case is not a lie. This is a fast paced, multi-cast changing script which leaves little room for error for its young cast in the performance. If the script isn't enough to handle for the young performers, director Christopher Elmer-Gorry and designer Carl Davies have made the situation even more complex for the actors with the set and stage work. Having to manhandle great panels on wheels and a huge cube, which also splits in two occasionally, during scene changes requires skill, coordination and cooperation of a high level. As if all this is not enough, the actual story is epic enough for the relatively small stage of the Royal. Attempting to form an apocalyptic world (albeit only happening in Plymouth) offers challenges in itself, but Agboluaje's script does that in a sort of apocalypse in the teac...