Social Media

Dial M For Mayhem! Review

Reviewed by Mark
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review

Backstage mayhem ensues as a company of actors touring a production of Dial M For Murder arrive at a village hall in the fictional Loch Shindig in the Scottish Highlands. 

Joey Lockhart, Luke Rhodri and Theo Woolford in Dial M For Mayhem! Photo by Marcus Fernando for Middle Ground Theatre Company Ltd.

Middle Ground Theatre Company hit the road with the backstage comedy drama that is inspired by the company’s own touring to the Highlands. 

The piece is penned by Margaret May Hobbs and directed by Michael Lunney. In part it feels inspired by The Play That Goes Wrong or Noises Off and also by Fawlty Towers (Basil The Rat) except it doesn’t come close to hitting the success of any of those. 

Its characters and the plot are scattered as this run down village hall comes with a myriad of problems which plays into the chaos that ensues. The actors themselves are a group of vagabonds whose own fractured relationships are heightened by the tension the setting creates.

The laboured first act sees the repeated rehearsing of the murder scene as Sam Middleton character (played by the production’s strongest actor Isabella Inchbald) is attacked by Julian Brooke’s (Joey Lockhart) character in the play-within-the-play. There’s some very ham acting here, perhaps intentionally so as a bad back, drawn out death and other distractions lead to frustrations all round.

Alasdair Baker, Isabella Inchbald and Theo Woolford. Photo by Marcus Fernando for Middle Ground Theatre Company Ltd.

The major problem with the production is that it is really hard to warm to any of the characters and plot lines are never fully developed as they could be. George the AA Man, also played by Lockhart, is initially a fun presence but it is then drawn out too long. The missing rat sequences are badly realised throughout and lacks impact.

Arguably the strongest moment comes in the whole piece comes in a really farcical end to the first half sending the audience in to the interval with hopes for the second act. 

The second half which now shifts to the evening of the performance and we are truly backstage. There’s more moments of farce with lost keys meaning actors struggle to open the door, a key lost prop in the murder scene ramps up the tension between the actors, a food poisoned stage manager makes the wrong cues whilst the other is busy distracted by listening to the football on his radio. It leaves you questioning what the actual audience are seeing, especially when you hear the play is so well received at the end.

Initially the second half does have a bit more promise but this is diminished further by the focus shifting to things that aren’t fully realised. The focus shifting back to the rat on the loose does shift momentum again, and not for the better of the plot.

The strength in the production does come from the committed cast who do their absolute best with the material. The visual design is also impressive, the set, designed by Michael Lunney, is superbly realised and helps create the set for the play with the use of props and entrances and exits. 

Luke Rhodri, Joey Lockhart and Theo Woolford. Photo by Marcus Fernando for Middle Ground Theatre Company Ltd.

Ultimately Dial M For Mayhem! feels like a misfire. It doesn’t reach the heights of similar shows in this style of drama comedy. It’s entertaining enough and has some good moments but they end up being few and far between.

⭐️⭐️

Dial M For Mayhem! plays at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate until Saturday 8th February 2025. Tickets are available from https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/dial-m-for-mayhem/

The tour continues until 29th March. For dates and venues visit http://www.middlegroundtheatre.co.uk/Wordpress/dial-m-for-mayhem/

Post a Comment

Instagram

Theme by STS