Review: A WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION at The Pumphouse Theatre, Takapuna, Auckland

The verdict is…..

Dramatically directed by Mags Delaney-Moffat, A WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, is everything we appreciate about the skills of classic crime writer Agatha Christie. The play was adapted by herself from a short story into a classic courtroom drama with elements of black comedy.  The result: a highly absorbing and intriguing crime thriller presented with skill, well-paced for the audience to follow the unfolding narrative and “guess” if the accused is guilty or not.

The setting is London 1953, at the Old Bailey, and the accused is charming, seemingly, naïve Leonard Vole (Max Easy) who is arrested for the murder of Emily French, a wealthy older woman. Unaware that he was a married man, (Miss) French had made him her principal heir, thus providing a suspicious motive. When his enigmatic wife, Romaine (Samantha Ellwood), agrees to testify, she does so not in Leonard's defence but as a witness for the prosecution.  

Mags Delaney-Moffat has made the most of Christie’s wise and witty dialogue that needs to be realistically delivered in order to draw us in. Congratulations to all the cast, and the director, for the natural delivery,  and realistically paced, well-modulated 1950s dialogue. Vocally contrasted characters created skilful variations of diction, accents and delivery.   

Despite its classic “static” nature, the play’s narrative moves quickly and the numerous characters for the prosecution serve a range of purposes:  most of them seem to corroborate Vole’s guilt. However, the many twists in this tale keep us all guessing – right to the first closing scene. No spoilers here!!

This play began as a short story with precision in its construction. Later it became a film in which the audience’s focus is filtered through a director’s choice of film shots. But the strength of theatre is the breadth of dramatic vision – every character has emotion to be “read” in the subtle touches of expressive faces and bodies, the looks, the eyes, the position of hands. That’s what makes live theatre so impressive. This action in this courtroom is layered with a rather personal and professional conflict between the shrewd, precise barrister for the accused Sir Wildred Roberts (Stephen Ellis) and the attractive Miss Myers (Philippa Grantham),articulate, dedicated leading barrister for the prosecution. An added touch of realism resulted from the imaginative choice of staging - 12 audience members sit in the jury box. But then – the entire audience are also evaluating the unfolding evidence as it is presented by the cast.

Convincing performances from all the supporting cast who came to incriminate: Janet MacKenzie (Jessie Jeffreys), Emily French's Scottish housekeeper who had always been suspicious; Dr Wyatt (John Charlton)expert witness and police surgeon; Thomas Clegg (Emmi O’Regan) forensic laboratory assistant; Detective Inspector Herne (Morgan Sheffield). Then we had all the various lawyers and officials cementing the authenticity (Chris Raven, Jeff Philip, Hae Won Choe). Superb performance from Christian George as Judge Mr Justice Wainwright – High Court Judge, the iron fist in a velvet glove, who brooks no mischief in his courtroom. One of the most appealing characters is Greta, Sir Wildfred’s legal secretary. Christine Ball brings out the modern views about justice, and whose witty, sometimes “girly” lines brought comic relief. However, full credit to Max Easy and Samantha Ellwood.  The play’s intensity is expertly sustained by the emotional truth of these lead actors. They “owned the stage” when on it, and gave us much to observe, to ponder about, to draw conclusions from.

Book early – you could easily miss out. The is a short season and the production has nearly full houses already.  This is a slickly delivered and deftly directed absorbing production that shouldn’t be missed if you are an Agatha Christie enthusiast.

The play runs July 20 –30 July  at The Pumphouse Theatre, Takapuna.  Bookings at the Theatre Box Office.  

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