Dial M For Murder

The husband is played Peter Davison, who was last seen in the West End in 1994 in 'An Absolute Turkey' at the Globe Theatre.He performed the part adequately and convincingly. Catherine Rabett making her West End debut played the wife effectively, so too did the rest of the cast. But none of the acting was phenomenal or memorable.

The enjoyment of the play is seeing how the husband twitches and fidgets as he tries to get himself out of difficult situations when his plan goes wrong.

The sets by Andrew Leigh are very nice. A delightful living room where all the action takes place, it captures the time and mood perfectly.

(Darren Dalglish)

Peter Davison plays Tony Wendice, a husband who on discovering that his wife has been exchanging love letters begins to plan her death.

On the night of the murder, nothing goes according to plan and the irate husband has to think and act creatively in order not to arouse suspicion and to continue plotting against his wife.

The play is well written and the suspense inevitably builds up despite the fact that Peter Davison is miscast for the part of a malevolent, pitiless and vindictive husband seeking 'revenge'. ?

Davison is normally cast as the middle-class English nice guy, and in an interview he said "It's very enjoyable to be a villain after all this time" Sadly Davison needs lessons on how to be a villain. Despite the shocking truth of how far his character is prepared to go to seek 'revenge', he still speaks and moves about the stage as the 'perfect gentleman'.

Fortunately the play is strong enough to carry the actors, and is well worth seeing.