IT would be difficult to imagine a more perfect stage production of Agatha Christie\u2019s thriller, The Mousetrap.<\/p>\n
Director, Robyn Nevin, has assembled a talented cast and created a mesmeric production, the like of which is too rarely seen in Australian drama theatres.<\/p>\n
Nevin has given us a staging which is precisely and truthfully executed. She has honoured the text. Never for a moment does the talented Nevin permit her cast to slip into melodrama, or farce.<\/p>\n
Her faultless direction and artistic skill defies the audience not to believe in the plot of Christie\u2019s superbly crafted whodunnit.<\/p>\n
The cast of Anna O\u2019Byrne, Alex Rathgeber, Laurence Boxhall, Adam Murphy, Charlotte Friels, Gerry Connolly as Mr Paravicini, Tom Conroy, and Geraldine Turner as Mrs Boyle is without a weak link – which serves to maintain the tautness of the situation, and allows the genius of Agatha Christie to take the audience on the journey of murder!<\/p>\n
The delicate balance of performance between juvenile leads, Charlotte Friels and Tom Conroy, is electric.<\/p>\n
Both Gerry Connolly and Laurence Boxhall are pitch perfect. They have found every possible laugh contained in the script and both play it with effortless aplomb, and admirable restraint.<\/p>\n
Connolly is a master class in performance control and Boxhall is a comedic actor of considerable expertise, and talent.<\/p>\n
Murphy as Major Metcalfe is a treat. What could be a caricature in less capable hands, is perfectly measured with an applause-worthy denouement!<\/p>\n
As the husband and wife team, O\u2019Byrne and Rathgeber are a joy to watch. Together, they are superbly, idiosyncratically English in that unmistakeable manner, and together they drive the narrative with a skilled deftness, and a perfect lightness of touch.<\/p>\n
Turner has, since the early 1970s, charmed Australian audiences with a string of brilliant and sparkling performances.<\/p>\n
However, it is her nuanced portrayal of Mrs Boyle, the English battle-axe in the tradition of Peggy Mount and Hattie Jacques, which almost steals the show.<\/p>\n
It might be said Turner has, with this memorable performance, come-of-age as an actress. She does not miss a moment in what is a notoriously difficult role. She has created a character of such clarity, and believability, it might easily add another award to her considerable collection.<\/p>\n
Designed by Isabel Hudson, and lit by Trudy Dalgleish, this sparkling production of The Mousetrap, which is a visual feast, is touring Australia.<\/p>\n
The magnificent country house set sits perfectly on Melbourne\u2019s Comedy Theatre stage.<\/p>\n
It is a shining exemplar, a manifestation of what is artistically possible, with a producer and director determined to honour a genre of theatre which has, sadly, all but disappeared from our lives.<\/p>\n
Whatever else you see, don\u2019t miss this production!<\/p>\n
The Mousetrap is currently running at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne until 26 March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IT would be difficult to imagine a more perfect stage production of Agatha Christie\u2019s thriller, The Mousetrap. Director, Robyn Nevin, has assembled a talented cast and created a mesmeric production, the like of which is too rarely seen in Australian drama theatres. Nevin has given us a staging which is precisely and truthfully executed. She […]<\/p>\n