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| Cast | |
| Sidney Bruhl | John Hart |
| Clifford Anderson | Peter Griffin |
| Myra Bruhl | Roz Betts |
| Helga ten Dorp | Maureen Hardwen |
| Porter Milgrim | Horry Stapleton |
| Crew | |
| Stage Manager | Jenny Devonshire |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Julia Randall |
| Set Design & Construction | Peter Griffin |
| Properties | Tricia Morris |
| Lighting Design | Jerry McKeon |
| Lighting Operation | David Shields |
| Sound | Keith Dungate, Matt Clowry |
| Music Compilation | Gaynor Fisher |
Review
Shocks with a hint of humour
American playwright Ira Levin probably had his tongue in his cheek when he wrote Deathtrap - even though it is both a thriller and a vehicle for frightening most members of an audience into a state of shock. The writer has the ability to create a state of comparative calm after each episode of nightmarish horror but it would be very unwise, at any time, to believe the worst is over.
Perhaps the lighter moments and the introduction of a foreign lady with an apparently amazing gift for extra sensory perception are simple devices to lull the audience into a false sense of security. Certainly, there does not appear to be any particular reason for the woman be in the play except to show off her undoubted ESP skills. And the humour generally surfaces after a period of particularly torrid action.
This week the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath is performing a revival of the work that has been produced by Peter Griffin, who co-directed the play with Philip Vander Gucht. The final performance is this Saturday. Apart from the fine performances of the cast, the production is charged with a powerful sense of menace throughout. This is a tribute to Jerry McKeon's highly atmospheric lighting design, the often eerie sound design developed by Keith Dungate and Matt Clowry, and Gaynor Fisher's choice of the ominous incidental music. Peter Griffin has designed an excellent set which represents a playwright's study. On one wall are enough weapons to kill all the characters in the play several times over.
The plot concerns a well-known but struggling playwright (John Hart) who is married to a very rich woman (Roz Betts) and he treats her with barely concealed contempt. Then, into their lives comes a young mysterious aspiring playwright (Peter Griffin) who becomes the catalyst of the horrors which follow. Good support comes from Maureen Hardwen as the foreign lady and Horry Stapleton playing a lawyer. In reality, the plot is as full of holes as a colander and the final scene is something of an anticlimax. But few thrillers can generate such an impact, especially when placed in the hands of the highly creative EAT team.
Roy Atterbury
Kentish Times | 18 March 2004
