Review: Rope at Theatr Clwyd in Mold

Murder mysteries, while never falling out of favour, have never been more popular than they are now especially when it comes to books and TV shows while cinema has also recently exploited interest in the genre via the Knives Out series and Branagh Poirot adaptations.

Such thrillers have long been staples of repertory theatre but have tended to attract less attention on stage in recent years which makes Theatr Clwyd’s decision to revive Patrick Hamilton’s 1929 melodrama so fascinating as it also taps into a linked 21st century fixation with true crime.

Hamilton loosely based his play on a notorious 1924 case in which intellectual Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and murdered a schoolboy just to prove they could do it and get away with it - which they didn’t.

Most famously, it was turned into a big screen presentation in 1948 by Alfred Hitchcock in what turned out to be a failed experiment in excessively long takes which never really worked despite the presence of Hollywood legend James Stewart.

Which brings us to director Francesca Goodridge’s interpretation of the original play which, it must be said, owes virtually nothing to the Hitchcock film and proves to be a highly distinctive and original approach - to admittedly creaky material - which leans into the absurdity of the over the top characters while emphasising how the story’s themes tap into obsessions which are very much of our time in an age of streaming services, social media, YouTube and podcasts.

Right from the start, we become quickly aware that this is not going to be a conventional night out. Goodridge maintains minimal lighting for the opening ten minutes or so as Felipe Pacheco as servant Sabot provides a jokey but also eerie narration as we witness the immediate aftermath of Brandon (Jack Hammett) and Granillo (Chirag Benedict Lobo) having used rope to strangle a fellow student to death for the sheer hell of it.

We watch them in silhouette as they hide the body in a chest that becomes the focal point of their living space which is soon occupied by guests they have invited to a macabre dinner party which include their victim’s father Sir Johnstone Kentley (Keiron Self) and aunt Mrs Debenham (Emily Pithon) as well as intuitive and ultra smart poet Rupert Cadell (Tim Pritchett).

Throughout the production, Goodridge makes unusual choices which add an almost surreal edge to proceedings, drifting into performance art as those not directly involved in the action of the moment use carefully choreographed movement to add to the growing sense of dread and suspicion.

The artificial nature of it all has already been stressed by having each character formally introduced in narration as they sit at cocktail tables either side of the stage waiting for their entrances which often leads to amusing exchanges before they take their place in the story, a technique handled particularly well by Emily Pithon who provokes much laughter as she compensates for Mrs Debenham’s monosyllabic nature with some deliberately excessive facial expressions and gestures.

The clever staging becomes ever more impressive as the initially clinically controlled environment of the killers’ apartment is gradually torn apart - quite literally at one point - by the actors themselves as the perfect crime is revealed to be anything but in the face of poet Cadell’s piercing insights.

The fact we are always aware of the exact nature of the murder may make this more Columbo than Christie but while there is never any doubt the villains will be undone, it is both fun and stimulating to see this happen in such an imaginative and challenging way.

Rope can be seen at Theatr Clwyd in Mold until Saturday, July 20.

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