WISH YOU WERE DEAD - AT THE ARTS THEATRE
At the chateau
When Cleo and Roy Grace set off on holiday to France, they take their American Nanny Kaitlynn and her boyfriend Jack to look after 3-month-old Noah. The chateau is a gloomy disappointment full of tired antiques and lumpy beds. A huge tableau of the crucifixion looms over the honeymoon suite. From every wall in the oak panelled dining room, stuffed heads of animals slain by the owner peer down. A creaky suit of armour stands sentry on the staircase. Madame L’Eveque, (played with great skill and miraculous French savoir-faire by Rebecca McInnis) is a sharp no-nonsense hostess with a very believable contempt for the English visitors. Her wheelchair bound father the Vicomte a chilling Vince Mallet is seen only briefly but alarms the Nanny when he hisses ‘Leave’ in her ear before he vanishes - for good - into the mysterious back room. Things are not all they seem; the chateau harbours secrets and the couple decide to leave as soon as they can make their excuses to the autocratic Madame L’Eveque.
But where is Jack? He seems to be delayed. The baby is fretful the tension mounts - the Graces and Kaitlynn try and stay cheerful even as they plan their Trip Adviser revenge. Meanwhile Roy is preoccupied. At home he is a police detective, a superintendent no less. Even on holiday he is distracted by a case he is working on, where he -and Jack his assistant- plan to arrest Brighton’s most notorious gangsters. Our suspicions grow , confirmed when we cut to Madame in the attic – with Jack gagged and tied to a chair.
This is an enjoyable thriller of a classic novel. Peter James based it on his own holiday from hell – there is no doubt every background detail is authentic. And it satisfyingly is packed with surprises – shocks for an audience some on the edge of their seats but it is the performances which lift it into an intriguing test of nerve and a keen psychological delve into the nature of those on the wrong side of the law.
Clive Mantle and Sheridan Lee
Clive Mantle is superb in his role, expansive – often humorous and always entirely convincing. He has stage presence in spades. Callum Sheridan-Lee is a worthy partner in crime. His performance was electric, confused bewildered yet ruthless, here is an actor about to go far. Glenn Branson, played by Leon Stewart was calmly cool in his role as colleague and confidant to his boss, but the star of the show had to be George Rainsford as Roy Grace. His command of the part provides the thrills, the pace the ingenuity and the absorption in the action this play needs and deserves. His style is nuanced but utterly convincing. His wife played by Giovanna Fletcher less so, her voice is strained – hard to sustain. Voices on stage must be trained just to sound natural. Gemma Stroyan as Kaitlyn the nanny got into her stride with conviction in an action-packed role and she provided the energy and outrage the play deserves.
Holiday destinations are often a rollercoaster ride whatever the brochure promises – let’s hope none of us find ourselves anywhere near the sinister environs of Wish you were Dead. But you never know.
Cliv Mantlee and Callum Sheridan-Lee
