Torben Betts
Original Theatre
The Lowry, Salford
January 23-27, 2024; 1hr 50 mins
It is New Year's Eve and once-famous pop star Danny Sierra has just been to his mother's funeral. Regrettably Danny has had one - or rather a lot - too many and crashes the car in the middle of nowhere.
So he and his girlfriend, Sarah, along with other members of Danny's family, are forced to stay at a cottage owned by the very odd Mrs Bateson. And since this is called Murder in the Dark, the lights keep going out...
In Agatha Christie style, the group's fractured relationships with Danny are revealed in this constrained setting. Sarah is much too young for him and he resents her freedom. He and his brother William hardly speak. His ex-wife Rebecca needs to move on, and their son Jake is angry with the father, who was absent too often. Can these things be resolved?
As this psychological drama develops, things get spookier. But it is a strange beast, this one, a mix of comedy, thrills, melodrama and some music. Unfortunately, this leads to a lack of cohesion. Act one, admittedly a scene-setter, would be a bit dull if it were not for the humour. Act two – well, the audience is asked not to share any spoilers so let’s just say it gets heavier and scarier towards the end.
The set is that of the cottage - nothing spectacular, but with enough windows and banging doors to be satisfying.
The sound is as you would expect – owls, dogs, wind, spooky storms and so on...
The lighting is, of course, important in a play of this name. There are times when it is too dark to see the actors’ faces, but others when it adds to the atmosphere – as indeed it should.
Thankfully the cast holds things together. Tom Chambers is steady, but credit has to go to Susie Blake as Mrs Bateman, in particular for her comic timing.
More info and tickets here
