Writer: Torben Betts
Director: Philip Franks
Have you ever wanted to see a soap opera about gangsters, live on stage? Well, Murder at Midnight has you covered.
It all starts in three rooms of a modern house in the East End of London, where two police officers (Bella Farr and Andy McLeod) are investigating a crime scene. They clean up as they talk through the deaths, and then we’re cleverly back in time and meeting OAP Shirely Drinkwater (Susie Blake) and her carer Christina (Iryna Poplavska). It’s New Years Eve, and Shirley’s son Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ Drinkwater (Jason Durr), a notorious pig farm fronted gangster with only one eye, has made a surprise visit to whisk both of them and girlfriend Lisa (Katie McGlynn) away to Barbados. Unfortunately, Lisa is currently upstairs trying to seduce Paul (Max Bowden), a bumbling undercover cop investigating the murder of Jonny’s first wife Alex. Proceedings are accompanied by Jonny’s second in command Trainwreck (Peter Moreton) and a very badly planned robbery by mysterious Mr Fish (Callum Balmforth).
It’s a cast full of Coronation Street, Heartbeat and Eastenders alumni, and does the acting ever show it. From Durr’s mugging towards the audience to McGlynn’s Australia veering Essex accent it’s clear that the show is going to rely heavily on stereotypes and clichés. Which is fine, it’s a comedy thriller murder mystery after all, and those things are classics for a reason, but the director also describes it as “Feydeau written by Tarantino” which is a rather large claim to make, and your reviewer is not sure it has quite achieved.
The show is very funny. Quips and one liners fly like bullets, and the actors’ comic timing, especially that of Bowden and Durr, are spot on. The characters are engaging, although equally one note and shallow. You really feel for the dilemma of McGlynn’s Lisa and the depressed confusion of Moreton’s Trainwreck. But nothing actually happens for most of the play, despite the breakneck speed in which scenes intercut between the locations. It’s cleverly scripted and tightly performed, it’s just a little bit dull and cyclical, with whole actions and phrases of dialogue repeated by multiple characters at times. The tone often feels unbalanced, with characters giving a heartfelt few lines of dialogue meant to really yank on the heartstrings, and then someone else makes a witty comment and the action moves on without giving the audience time internalise what was just said. And the less said about the fight scenes the better – while they are all safely done, they often aren’t convincingly acted, and there hasn’t been a chase scene so slow and unrealistic since OJ in the Broncho. In fact, the show seems to forget it is meant to be a murder farce until the last ten minutes, at which point it overcorrects and overacts so much it is almost embarrassing.
The design of the show is a treat. Colin Falconer’s triple layered stage is striking and well used, although it can sometimes be confusing where to look as the script jumps between characters. Each death is well done too, with crossbow bolts and knives magically appearing in chests and stomachs, and blood packs a plenty popping off while cocaine fills the air. And the twist ending of the original whodunnit mystery is genuinely surprising, although the motive is obscured in its validity. Acting highlights are Bowden, whose incompetent cop is a joy to see winding towards the inevitable, and Poplavska, who is performing in her first professional stage role in the UK. Special mention must also go to Moreton for instantly getting the audience on side with his portrayal of Trainwreck, the gangster who you just want to give a big hug to.
Overall, Murder at Midnight is an entertaining night out, and the actors are clearly all having fun performing it. It may not be the best plot or have the most engaging character development, but it has tried something new and is somewhat successful in that. Worth a watch if you leave your expectations low.
Runs until Saturday 25th October 2025
