Murder On Air at The Lowry, Manchester Review
Agatha Christie’s
Murder On Air
The Lowry, Manchester
16-20 September 2014
Reviewed by Ann Durrell
I was not sure what to expect when I read the intro to Agatha Christie’s Murder On Air, a theatre show of radio plays is such a totally different concept to anything I have seen before and I must say, it works fantastically.
The stage is set as a radio studio, complete with the sound effects man, or Foley artist as he is known. The cast arrive on stage dressed in the style of the period, the ladies looked like they were en route to a dinner party, Liza Goddard in a fetching sequin mesh jacket and the gentlemen in full dinner suits. After greeting each other and picking up their scripts the ‘On Air’ sign lights up and the performance begins.
The three plays performed each last around 30 minutes, the first ‘Personal Call’ is about a gentleman who starts to receive calls from his former wife who it transpires died a year previously, the second ‘The Yellow Iris’ centres around a dinner party and we meet Poirot who engages his little grey cells in order to solve the mystery and finally ‘Butter in a Lordly Dish’ where we meet Sir Luke Enderby K.C who is looking to spend the weekend with his latest lady friend, but all is not as it seems.
Robert Powell plays the male lead and Liza Goddard the female lead in each play with four more actors taking the other roles. Each of the actors managed to keep in their character of the radio artist and that of the plays superbly. The performances kept the suspense of a murder mystery but still there was an injection of humour throughout. In particular when one of the actors was giving his steam train effect it raised a giggle from the audience who mostly were quite surprised he had managed to puff so long without fainting!
The sound effects for each of the plays were provided by Foley artist Alexander Bermange. I thought he was fabulous, we saw how a multitude of effects would have been made for the radio at the time. One door gave a multitude of noises, from a simple slam to creaking hinges, shoes on sticks being pressed on what appeared to be unravelled tape to recreate the sound of walking across grass.
I thoroughly enjoyed Murder On Air and would highly recommend it to others, my eyes were glued to the stage throughout the whole performance.
Tickets cost from £25-£27 (includes £2 booking fee).
Agatha Christie’s Murder On Air is at The Lowry until 20 September 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0843 208 6000.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000