Murder With Love

The audience attending the opening night of the summer murder mystery season were told to expect a shock and certainly many of us were on the edge of our seats during this opening night production.

This was the first of two weeks of murder stories being performed at The Grand by the Newpalm Theatre Group, who make a welcome return after a three year absence due to the refurbishment of the theatre.

There must be something about the thought of a good murder story which brought the crowds in.

The audience was certainly not short changed with their expectations, although in this play only two characters faced a grisly end.

Murder With Love' is based around the lives of David Ryder (Zach Vanderfelt) and Larry Campbell (Andrew Ryan) who are love rivals.

Many had their reasons for disliking Campbell but none felt more embittered than successful lawyer, Ryder.

Not only had he lost his wife to Campbell but he also held him responsible for her death and that of his young son.

Ryder pursues his vendetta by nefariously obtaining a key to Campbell's flat in order that he might seize the opportunity to murder him.

He blames the loss of his family firmly on Campbell's shoulders and makes a threat to kill him. However, it seems that he has been saved the effort when Campbell has a heart attack and collapses before his eyes.

However, when it is revealed the following day that Campbell was not the victim of natural causes but brutal murder Ryder finds himself in serious trouble.

Deceit, suspicion, threats of blackmail and incrimination are woven into a web of crime leading to a tantalising twist at the climax.

The play starts off relatively slowly, with plenty of dialogue in the split set of Campbell's flat and Ryder's drawing room during the first act.

The murder takes place and then the plot grabs you and demands your full attention. The twist at the end wasn't one I thought of. Everything happens before you but the obvious answers aren't always the correct ones.

We have become accustomed to superb acting from the cast of Newpalm productions over the years and this play was no exception.

Zach Vanderfelt showed that he has lost none of his ability to hold the audience in the palm of his hand and squeeze every last ounce of tension out of them with his exquisite timing and superb delivery.

For a Zumerset' boy, his accent is Home Counties through and through in the part of David Ryder, the QC. Likewise, Andrew Ryan plays the role of Larry Campbell superbly.

Two ladies who I thought were also outstanding were Sylvia Carson as Jo Mitchell the journalist and Jasmine Darke as Claire Norman, Larry Campbell's mistress.

These four were extremely well supported by Evelyn McLean (Mrs Bedford), Denis Huett (Ernest Foster), David Martin (George Rudd), David Rumelle (Roy Campbell) and Giles Stoakley (Inspector Cleaver).

The play was superbly directed by Lionel Chilcott and John Newman and Daphne Palmer, who are the owners of Newpalm Productions, should be extremely proud of their talented cast and director for providing such a wonderful evening's entertainment