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Review of Not Dead Enough at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Following successful tours of Peter James plays The Perfect Murder and Dead Simple, it seemed inevitable that the franchise would continue. This latest, Not Dead Enough, on the evidence of a packed audience on opening night at the Royal & Derngate and a thoroughly entertaining evening, means that there are perhaps to be others in the future. Like it's predecessor, it is not highbrow theatre likely to win awards, however it has a perhaps more universal appeal than many shows. It is accessible and packed with familiar faces from television which means its the perfect vehicle for a new theatre goer. As in the previous plays, Roy Grace is our investigator (now DS) and this time he has a brutal sexual murder to investigate which may or may not have connections with an unsolved one of the past. Bill Ward plays Grace in a solid, but perhaps at times over the top manner making you wish he would tone it down a bit. He is impulsive, pacy and often too full on. Never having read the b

Review of The Perfect Murder at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

I first saw Peter James' The Perfect Murder about two years ago at Milton Keynes Theatre and for some unknown reason, despite enjoy its dark comedy quite a bit, I never committed a review to page. So I felt having now seen it again with a near brand new cast at my home theatre, I thought I better write a few words. Based upon James' novella of the same name, adaptor Shaun McKenna has created a funny, frivolous and divertingly entertaining two hour comedy thriller. It is never going to challenge the cerebral matter much, but it offers plenty of fun and just a small amount of intrigue. When I first saw the play two years ago, Les Dennis and Claire Goose took on the roles and very much made them their own. Dennis was a revelation to me and Goose was everything I wanted (the reason I was there to be honest, as I am a big fan). Filling these roles this time are Shane Ritchie and Jessie Wallace, an all too familiar pairing if you are an Eastenders viewer. They fill the roles well