All About Murder at Theatre Royal, Nottingham Review

Reviewed by Louise Edwards

Wow tonight was a very special night as it was the first time we had been to the theatre since they reopened after 16 or so months of enforced closures due to the global pandemic! It felt very emotional to be back there, having a socially distanced performance!

The occasion was the opening night of All About Murder at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham – a Tabs production and part of the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season which is a regular annual feature on the calendar and never disappoints.

Written by Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner, All about Murder takes place in the writing studio at the Oxfordshire country home of Nigel Forbes, played by David Callister.

Forbes, along with Maxine Goodman, played by Susan Earnshaw, are thriller playwrights having a dip in their fortunes and money is tight. Despite a track record of stage hits they are struggling to come up with new original ideas for their plays.

Forbes’ sour faced wife Ann, played by Susie Hawthorne, walks in just as the pair are in the middle of a brainstorming session having decided they need to find the perfect victim that the audience will be pleased to see the back of. Inspiration strikes and the play sets off on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.

The play is very cleverly and wittily performed by the experienced and talented cast members, also joined by Anna Mitcham who plays the playwrights’ glamorous secretary, Jill Prentice and Detective Inspector Berry, who is a huge thriller fan played by Jeremy Lloyd Thomas.

In terms of choice of play to kick start the thriller season and indeed reopening the theatre in such strange times, this is the perfect antidote to the sombre times we have been experiencing with lots of excitement to keep the audience guessing right until the very end and a delightful mix of humour and lighthearted fun.

Things in the theatre were obviously different with tickets being electronic, temperature checks on arrival and audience members given timed entrances which were spaced out around the theatre. Everyone had to wear a mask in the theatre and seats were socially distanced with crosses over the seats not available and one free row between every occupied row. Theatre staff have adapted brilliantly to the changes to ensure everyone feels safe.

The play ran for around an hour and a half and there was no interval. Between each section of the play the theatre was plunged into semi darkness as the curtain was pulled down with haunting lighting making it even more atmospheric and setting the scene for more intrigue and mystery.

This is the first of four thriller plays in the Colin McIntyre season and the welcome return of live theatre to Nottingham. It was so amazingly good to be back and hopefully this is just the start of things returning to normality!

Ticket prices range from £25-28 and this play runs until Saturday 26 June 2021.

To book tickets, please visit the TRCH website here.

Rating: 4/5