Reviewed by Louise Edwards
The final play of the 30th Thriller Season at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal sees Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The Nightmare Room adapted into a modern thriller by John Goodrum.
A woman, who we learn is Helen (played by Angie Smith), comes around to consciousness to find she is blindfolded and tied to a chair as her captor, the bullying Catherine (played by Sarah Wynne Kordas) gleefully looms over her preparing her for a nightmare game of cat and mouse.
The stage is simple – a stark white room, which is plunged into darkness with atmospheric lighting and a loud crash between the scenes, sets the mood with the audience on the edge of their seats. On set, there is a table, with a jug and two glasses as well as a small bottle of poison as well as a second chair.
Each short scene features the two women in various situations and locations, with subtle changes in lighting, telling us the background to the story in series of flashbacks (which could be a little confusing). We learn that the two women are (or were) childhood friends. Catherine meets, and marries, a famous film star, Michael, who both Catherine and Helen adore. He, however, has an illicit affair with Helen and as Catherine learns the truth the dilemma is which one of them should he be with as he cannot make the decision himself.
Catherine’s slightly psychopathic idea is to let fate take its path by filling a glass with poison and a glass with water, then each of the women alternately switching the glasses behind the others back before them each choosing a glass to drink with neither knowing its contents. The one left standing will then “win the man”.
The acting is excellent and there are lots of twists and turns throughout the play, particularly in the second half, with a few red herrings thrown in, to keep you guessing the outcome and gripped to find out what happens next, right until the end.
We thoroughly enjoyed the whole of the thriller season and the finale certainly doesn’t disappoint. Fans of spine-chilling drama don’t want to miss this!
Nottingham’s Theatre Royal is in the city centre with convenient parking and public transport routes as well as a plethora of restaurants and cafes. The Theatre has its own bars and restaurants as well as selling snacks.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £12 to £25 (booking fees may apply).
The Nightmare Room is at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham from 21-25 August 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.trch.co.uk or call the box office on 0115 989 5555.
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND
