Dial M for Murder

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Dial M for Murder

Playwright – Frederick Knott adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.

Production Company/Theatre space – Theatre Calgary, Max Bell Theatre, Werklund Centre in partnership with The Ars Club Theatre Company.

Length – 2 Acts (2 hours 30 minutes, one intermission)

Genre/s – Mystery Drama

Premise – There are some key issues but basically, a murder that is carefully planned goes awry.

Why this play? Why now? – This play has name recognition and has been done many times in Calgary, but not for a decade.

Curiosities – When will I not think about accents? While I understand the reasons, I wonder when I will not cease to be annoyed by cheap plastic glassware and fake cigarettes?

Notable Moment – Dramatic tension looks easy but is sometimes hard to pull off. There was a great notable moment, but it has to be redacted for spoilers.

Notable writing – There have been some sad and tragic adaptions of late, fortunately this isn’t one of them. Hatcher has done superb job of adapting the original piece. He is a senior playwright who has expert facility. His awards and grants are listed in the program – you can read it when you go!

Notable performances – This is Olivia Hutt’s debut at Theatre Calgary but I’m sure she’ll be back. Theatre Calgary alumni Tyrell Crews, Emily Dallas, Shekhar Paleja, and Stafford Perry are a talented and proficient lot having well over two dozen previous TC credits between them.

Notable design/Production – The lighting design and sound scape are crucial in this genre. Itai Erdal does a fine job on the lights (loved the mug shots). Anton Lipovetsky’s sound design and composition perfectly support without intruding (a balance less well understood by some). The set, however, was confusing and distracting. I didn’t understand the upstage wall which shook like it was going to be moved but didn’t, and the set on a revolve that moved when it looked like it shouldn’t. Nor did I understand the basic layout.

Notable direction – Jillian Keiley starts us off with Coward-esque showy artifice that melts into edgier reality as things go awry and tensions mount.

One reason to see this show – While Made in Italy was a spicy Italian party, Dial M is cocktails and crime but equally successful. Dial B for box-office.