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★★★
Torben Betts’ comedy thriller ‘Murder at Midnight’ is the latest addition to Original Online, the digital theatre platform from Original Theatre, which provides theatre fans with access to online productions from £8.99 per month. Directed by Philip Franks and filmed by Tristan McShepherd, the show stars Jason Durr, Susie Blake, Max Bowden and Katie McGlynn, and sees an array of characters visit the mansion of gangster criminal Jonny “The Cyclops” on New Year’s Eve and their lives forever changed. Combining dark humour, zany characters and the topic of murder, it is full of plenty of twists and turns, but the humour doesn’t always land and the narrative risks becoming somewhat chaotic.
About the show
Without giving away any spoilers, ‘Murder at Midnight’ centres on Jonny “The Cyclops”, who has returned home from a trip on New Year’s Eve. This was clearly an unexpected return, as Jonny’s mother Shirley (Susie Blake), her carer Cristina (Iryna Poplavska) and his girlfriend Lisa (Katie McGlynn) are all going about their business, waiting for the new year to begin. However, this is no ordinary household, with tarot cards predicting unexpected events before the clock strikes midnight, secrets hidden and buried family dramas resurfacing. Little do they know that this New Year’s Eve is going to be unlike any other that they have experienced, and audiences are in for a wild ride of events.
Narrative and characters
The madcap characters are what makes this show and there is no denying that it has its funny moments. That being said, for me the absurdity of the narrative makes it difficult to fully engage with the material. Just as you think the story can’t go any more off the rails, it continues, and in some ways it is a little exhausting to follow. The cast fully commit to the bold personalities and the antics of the characters, especially Max Bowden as Paul and Peter Moreton as Trainwreck, but at times there is arguably too much going on, which creates an uneven viewing experience.
Does it work as a filmed production?
The material has been creatively filmed for the platform, providing audiences with a close-up view of the parallel action in each of the rooms in Jonny’s house. The set scales to the height of the stage, with Tristan McShepherd cleverly switching between views of the whole set and each of the rooms, highlighting the separate subplots and the secrets that are being kept. The camera angles also help add to the element of surprise, navigating the audience through the twists and turns of the evening.
Final thoughts
If you give into how absurd the narrative is and expect the unimaginable, this filmed production of ‘Murder at Midnight’ is an enjoyable 2 hours of digital theatre. It is an online production that you could certainly watch with friends as part of a movie night, enjoying something light-hearted that is sure to be a discussion piece afterwards. Original Online subscribers can stream ‘Murder at Midnight’ for the month of January, but if you’d rather see the piece in person, it takes to the stage at the Lowry in Salford from 19th to 24th January, before visiting various other theatres. Tickets for the tour can be purchased via the show’s website.
*I was given press access to ‘Murder at Midnight’ in exchange for an unbiased review.
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