Agatha Christie’s -Witness For The Prosecution At London County Hall Review

Reviewed by I.Addison 

Having this year finally seen ‘Mousetrap’ by Agatha Christie, I was over the moon to get the opportunity to go and see ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ at the beautiful County Hall in London.  I sensed I was in for a treat, after all, Agatha Christie is the best selling author of all time and ‘Mousetrap’ is the longest serving play in the world.

The location for ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ is inside County Hall on the South Bank which also houses SeaLife, Shreks Adventure, and The London Eye.

This really was a wonderful setting to start my afternoon. Easy to get to, from a choice of Westminster station; Circle, District and Jubilee, (which is the station I arrived at, and opposite side of the Thames to County Hall). The venue is incredibly easy to reach by rail and bus.

The entrance to the ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ production is on the Belvedere Road side of County Hall which is just around the other side from the SeaLife entrance.

Once inside the building the ticket desk/collection point is on the right side and there is a beautiful central staircase up to the seated area and bar areas. I collected my tickets and had been given row E in the south stalls which provided an excellent view of the stage, judge area and the jury. The immersive setting of the seating is fantastic and I was excited before anybody even came onto stage!

There is ample foot room and a desk in front of your seat to place drinks, programmes etc. You can order your drinks at the middle of the stairs for the interval and collect at the bar and this is what we did. Reasonably priced for the venue type.

The seating filled up and there were even people sitting in the public gallery which is higher up, equivalent to a circle setting in a ‘usual’ theatre setting.

Witness for the Prosecution is a court drama where the audience sits around the actual stage. The plot is around Leonard Vole who is accused of murdering a middle-aged lady he had recently befriended. I can not say too much about the plot without fear of giving away the story, which I do not want to do in any way as that is part of the captivation.

I did not know what to expect as I had not seen the film. The lights went down, the sound effects started and wow….
There are 18 cast members and I must say without exaggeration, all were brilliant, totally immersed in the role they were playing. Like me, the whole audience was silent and attentive throughout. If I had to pick a favourite actor the scales just tip for Owen Oakeshott as Sir Wilfred Roberts QC.

The play held my attention the whole time and the time went so quickly; I did not check my watch once.

The costumes, court gowns and wigs were fantastic; the guards and set changers, dressed accordingly, were as engaging as the judge on the bench. The seating setting, the lighting and sound effects really played a big part in the experience of it all.

Agatha Christie’s mystery style of ‘who done it?‘ really works and is part of the huge enjoyment of her plays and films.
‘Witness for the Prosecution’ had constant twists and turns of unknowns, surprises coupled with fabulous sound effects. I had a yo-yo of emotions of who I thought it was throughout.

This coupled with the interaction between the barristers, witnesses, and, of course, the accused, had me forgetting they were actors. I had really invested my thoughts into the verdict of the character.

The setting is so real it is wonderful; a stenographer typing and guards at all the doors, set changes effortlessly done.
I am a member of a theatre group and lucky enough to have seen a lot of theatre over the years enjoying thespian pursuits! . I don’t say this lightly – this is a must see production.

The suspense and surprise continued right to the end. Bravo to the cast, crew and production team. Thank you for this experience! ;o)

Rating: 5/5

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes (inc. 15 min interval) – Performances Tue-Sat at 7.30pm . Thur & Sat 2.30pm – Sundays 3pm

At: London County Hall, Belvedere Road SE1 7PB

Ticket prices: £42.50 – £25 ( for under 26’s) Plus there are a limited number of tickets where you can be part of the Jury at each performance. Age minimum for entry over 10 years old.

Tickets can be booked by visiting: Box office open daily or via web site
https://witnesscountyhall.com/tickets/ticket-information