Prescription for Murder by Norman Robbins
Knebworth Village Hall
Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th February 2010
Curtain Up 8pm

Knebworth Players production of Norman Robbins thriller  ‘Prescription For Murder’ staged between 4th and 6th February 2010 proved to be a thoroughly fascinating thriller.

Set in the sleepy Devon town of Bere Knighton, the play feels like the traditional country house ‘whodunnit’.  However, unlike traditional plays of this type where a murder happens early on and we spend the rest of the play trying to figure out ‘whodunnit’, in this play the murders appear to be ‘accidents’ and it isn’t until we witness a murder at the end of the play that all becomes clear.  Up to that point we meet the key characters and witness events that develop a real sense of impending doom as we wait for the crime we think is going to happen to take place.   However, when the crime does finally occur, it’s not what we expected it to be at all due to the final and neat twist at the end.  And even then, for those clever members of the audience who did figure it out, there’s another twist where the real criminals finally get their comeuppance.

The action takes place in one room and, until the action at the end, not much happens.  We witness a lot of talking between characters but the action is limited.  However, at no point did I feel bored and longing for something to happen.  This was due to the effective direction of Gill Smith (in her first role as director for Knebworth Players) and the very good casting of the play.  Every role was played to perfection with characters that came across as believeable real people rather than ‘whodunnit’ stereotypes.

Kelly-Ann Corderoy, in her first leading role since joining the Players, very convincingly played the role of Barbara, the put upon, sickly wife who’s poor health leads us to question the intentions of her new husband (Wayne Jarvis).  Her character switch at the end when her true character and murderous intentions are revealed was very convincing because it was subtly done and not overplayed.
Wayne in his role as her husband Richard Forth, the doctor with a suspicious past, effectively performed the frustrations and anger of a new husband who hadn’t got quite what he bargained for when he married his new wife.  He’s distracted and tempted by the lovely Julia (Alison Levesley) but too much an upstanding pillar of the community to allow temptation to sully his reputation.

Alison clearly enjoyed her role as the vampish Julia – tossing her hair, looking down on everyone (except Richard) and enjoying the air of mystery she created.  A really great performance by Alison.

Lorraine Van Goethem and Vince Cook brought the comic touch to the play with their convincing portrayals of married couple Mary and Allan Haigh.  Lorriane played Mary as one of those members of the local community who knows everyone and their business and Vince was equally convincing as her long suffering husband Allan, who’s never allowed to speak and so finds consolation in his beloved bowls (an interest his wife clearly doesn’t share!).

The ‘baddy’ of the piece was played by Knebworth Players  regular Rob Ward.  When we first meet him he is ‘Eric Dawson’,  a computer salesman from Derbyshire.  He is apparently a really nice guy.  But later on he reveals his alter ego and we realise what a thoroughly nasty piece of work he is.  Rob did a great job with both sides of this character – and it was great to see him playing someone so despicable!

In the midst of all this is Dorothy Livingstone, the Forth’s cleaning lady played by Lesley Shadbolt who proved once again what a super character actress she is.  Her interpretation of the ‘char’ who knows all the gossip and has a heart of gold was extremely well done.

The set exactly depicted the country doctor’s home (I could picture the outside of the house without every seeing it) and the entire production was seamlessly and faultlessly produced. 

Well done to everyone involved!

Barbara Holgate-Stuckey