Night Must Fall (Original Theatre Company Tour)

[David J]

This was okay

The play flops between light-hearted and intensely dark with bells wringing in the background whenever something suspicious happens

The actors are really playing types. Gwen Taylor is the sour old lady criticizing everything. Niamh McGrady is the straight laced niece. Mandi Symonds as the fussing serving woman. Alasdair Buchan is quite the annoyingly typical British man, sporting a moustache, tweed jacket, vest. Typically jovial, can't take a murder seriously and has to start a marriage proposal with "Now look here...". He may as well have a pipe glued to his hand

The play reveals the murderer during the first act and then has no where to go other than let things play out. I was half expecting Will Featherstone as Dan to be the red herring in a shocking twist but no the play runs its course predictably. Some of the character development too felt rushed by the end whilst there are certain things brought up that are never addressed

[profquatermass]

How interesting. It's never occurred to me that anyone would have seen this as a potential mystery and the casting of author Emlyn Williams (then best known for playing blackmailers and other low-lifes) in the original production would have ensured that the audience saw it as a psychological thriller not a whodunnit

[David J]

I don't know, but I couldn't really take this seriously as a thriller when half the characters were 2 dimensional.

Even with Danny's hunger for blood seeping through the act he puts on it becomes caricaturish after a while and I found it laughable that even the old woman wasn't even becoming suspicious

Technically this is a mystery because you are wondering what is going on with some of the other characters, especially the relationship between Dan and the niece. But as I said that aspect felt rushed by the end.