The danger with staging a whodunit is that the performance can easily end up as a crude rehashing of an episode of Poirot. Posh accents, country houses, hysterical swooning from left to right are all elements that seem now to have become prerequisites of any murder mystery.
Fortunately, though, a clever script and some imaginative directing have lifted this production of Go Back for Murder above the level of ITV Sunday night drama.
Having said that, this play does include all the classic ingredients we expect from Agatha Christie. Our expectations are repeatedly confounded as we struggle to tread a path strewn with red herrings.
What makes the play unusual, however, is that the murder is being investigated sixteen years after it was originally carried out. This allows for a sequence of flashbacks that depict retrospectively the day of the murder itself. But since these flashbacks are narrated by the various suspects, we never know whether what we are seeing is actually the truth.
The director Robert Holtom has handled adeptly the various problems that the complex temporal pattern presents. The flashbacks occur in the same space as the modern day action so that the movement between past and present never feels contrived. The regular scene changes that pervade the first half could have resulted in a lack of continuity but the directors have countered this problem by splitting the stage into four sections and lighting each one in turn.
The script requires its actors to maintain a sense of intrigue throughout, something that this cast achieves with formidable skill. Joe Robertson plays Justin Fogg with an air of bemused indifference that fits his role as investigator perfectly. Elsa Greer, played by Chloe Courtney, switches skilfully between softly spoken spite and brazen anger in an attempt to conceal her own insecurities. The only character that doesn’t quite deliver is Carla Crale, who, since we already know her to be innocent, has a rather flat and uninteresting role to play. However, Jenny Ross does her best to make the role as convincing as possible.
Whether you fancy yourself as an amateur sleuth or you simply want to witness an innovative piece of student drama, Go Back for Murder will not disappoint.
four stars
Go Back for Murder is at OFS Studio from Tuesday-Saturday of 3rd Week. Tickets £9/7
