@ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 5 Mar 2016
Is it possible to commit the perfect murder?
Both husband and wife from Peter James‘ popular 2010 novella think so. Victor (Shane Richie) and Joan (Jessie Wallace), the lead characters in this comedic crime thriller, have fallen out of love. After twenty years of marriage things have hit the rocks and Victor is planning what he hopes will be a flawless demise for his wife.
As arguably one of the most popular couples to grace Walford in EastEnders, it would be fair to assume that it could be difficult for Richie and Wallace to rekindle an on stage partnership as convincing. However, as they gripe and moan at each other across the stage as the Smileys, they have the audience gripped.
Victor Smiley is an IT manager and has been plotting the demise of his wife for some time, telling prostitute, Kamila Walcak (Simona Armstrong), in the opening scene that his “hobby is murder”. However, first blood goes to wife, Joan.
The storyline is at times dark and perhaps even unconvincing as a conceivable plot, but there are plenty laugh-out-loud moments as well as the odd jump and shriek from the audience, most notably during the dramatic ending, and this clever ending alone makes this play worth sticking with.
Richie is perfect as the middle-aged, downtrodden Victor, and Wallace is absolutely his match as the long-suffering wife. Her comedic timing is essential to the success of this play as she turns crying into chuckling seamlessly and delivers one-liners which have the audience roaring with laughter. But it is not just the two star names who shine on stage – Armstrong, as Croatian hooker and seer, Kamila, is flawless and entirely believable in a difficult role.
And so, the murder may be perfect but it is the chemistry between Richie and Wallace which pulls this play through. In different hands it could quickly become too long and too drawn out but in these hands it is dead set to fill the theatres.