It is always a pleasure to encounter a new play by Torben Betts, especially when it is billed as an old-fashioned “comedy thriller”! Except, of course, that Betts could never write anything that approached “old-fashioned”! And how refreshing it is to come across a hugely enjoyable new play that is not an adaptation of a novel, movie, or TV series!
Betts spent much of his earlier career working with Alan Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph Theatre-in-the-Round at Scarborough and the influence is evident in this play which is set in five different locations in a house at the same time, scenes often happening in several spaces at once, which is not only clever, it is also crystal clear and amusing, as it means we know what is happening to everyone involved almost all the time.
Murder at Midnight takes place on New Year’s Eve in rural Kent, where gangster Jonny “The Cyclops”, in the very safe hands of Jason Durr, complete with eyepatch, has decided to throw a party. Unbeknownst to him, the family gathering has been crashed by an inept undercover police officer, Paul, frantically and amusingly played by Max Bowden. We also meet Jonny’s wife, Lisa, very believably portrayed by Iryna Poplavska as a typical ‘dumb blonde’ with a love for expensive jewellery! She has a very watchable stage presence, apparently very calm whilst all is collapsing around her!
Jason’s mother, Shirley, who is nothing like as mentally challenged as she appears, is given a sparkling performance by Susie Blake, Peter Moreton impresses as ‘hard man’ Trainwreck and Callum Balmforth is hopelessly inept as budding gangster Russell.
Director Philip Franks gives the play the necessary pace it needs, even if, at the performance I attended, some of the line cues were on the slow side, occasionally inhibiting the flow of the piece. He describes the play as a “murder mystery… farce… gangster thriller… revenge drama and a darkly funny dissection of family life” which reminds him of “a Jacobean drama… worthy of Webster or Middleton“.
The clever set on three different levels, designed for touring to all types and sizes of theatre, has been imaginatively designed by Colin Falconer. Effective lighting is by Jason Taylor, with inventive effects by Max Pappenheim, who must be the busiest sound designer and composer around at the moment, deservedly so. Original Theatre must be commended for yet another first-rate production. It is only at Eastbourne’s charming Devonshire Park Theatre until 31 October, where it looks as if it belongs, and is then touring until at least April 2026, the nearest venue to London being Churchill Bromley, also a Trafalgar Entertainments theatre.
Warmly recommended for a relaxing (until the denouement!), amusing, winter evening!
Review by John Groves
It’s New Year’s Eve in a quiet corner of Kent and a killer is in the house…
We meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ – the notorious gangster, his glamorous wife, his trigger-happy sidekick, his mum—who’s seeing things, her very jittery carer, plus a vicar who’s hiding something and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown.
Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons, and one infamous unsolved murder…What could possibly go wrong?
Join us for a murder mystery with a difference. One house. Seven suspects and a Murder at Midnight…
CAST
Jason Durr – Jonny the Cyclops
Susie Blake – Shirley
Max Bowden – Paul
Katie McGlynn – Lisa
Callum Balmforth – Russell
Peter Moreton – Trainwreck
Iryna Poplavska – Cristina
Bella Farr – Police Officer/Understudy
Andy McLeod – Police Officer/Understudy
CREATIVE TEAM
Torben Betts – Writer
Philip Franks – Director
Colin Falconer – Designer
Jason Taylor – Lighting Designer
Max Pappenheim – Sound Designer and Composer
Ellie Collyer-Bristow CDG – Casting Director
Ruth Cooper-Brown for Rc-Annie – Fight and Intimacy Director
Carlotta De Gregori for Rc-Annie – Associate Fight Director
Barney McElholm – Associate Director
MURDER AT MIDNIGHT
Devonshire Park Theatre, 27 to 31 October 2025
Tour continues to 4 April 2026
