dial M for murder

The Systems Administrator asked whether I'd blogged yet, and when I said I hadn't suggested that it might be a good idea, before the power went off.  In truth we are not getting it so badly on this side of the country as they are in the West.  A hurricane warning for sea area Lundy is ridiculous. I've heard the odd forecast of Force 12 in Biscay over the years, but not for the Bristol Channel.

We went to the theatre last night, to see Dial M for Murder at Colchester's Mercury Theatre.  It was something of a milestone in our joint recuperation, as it was the first time we'd been out together since before the New Year.  We'd each managed to rally separately for various commitments, but colds put paid to our last planned trio to the Arts Centre, and the SA ended up missing the party in Dedham.

Dial M for Murder was very well done.  Neither of us had seen the Hitchcock film, miraculously (actually there was nothing miraculous about it.  If we had seen the film we wouldn't have bothered to get tickets for the stage version).  It started life as a play, before being adapted for the big screen, and is well constructed, with a rigorously tight plot.  Ludicrous, but tight.  It would be a shame to give any sort of plot spoiler, but as the pace of the action increases in the final third, all the clues do fit together.  I went through it carefully in my head afterwards on the way home, and the sequence and location of the key events and objects did flow absolutely consistently, with no awkward fudges.  I like that in a drama.  It is annoying to have been swept up at the time, only to realise afterwards that you don't see why so-and-so did something, or how the whatever-it-was ended up in the thingummy.

It is an economical play to stage, with only one set and five actors.  That bodes well for these straightened times, and well executed economy of effort is generally more fun to watch than sloppy excess.  After a slightly halting start, the Mercury production cranked up the tension to an interesting level, and continued to raise it for the rest of the evening, without climaxing too soon and having nothing left for the big reveal.  We both enjoyed it very much.

The auditorium was almost full, which must have been without the benefit of any school parties, since I can't believe that Frederick Knott's 1950s three act classic West End thriller is on the A level syllabus.  I am afraid we are a very Radio 4 audience, middlebrow lot in Colchester.  The Mercury had a new Artistic Director last season, and there have been changes, the familiar faces of the Mercury company being disbanded for a start.  I would like to support the Mercury, since I enjoy theatre, and it is conveniently local (and has very comfortable seats), but we have struggled to find that much from the last couple of brochures that we wanted to see, and weren't overly taken with the Ayckbourn we did go to last year.  Last night's entertainment was a welcome return to form, from our point of view.