Witness for the Prosecution - Photo by Ellie Kurttz.The play’s unique selling point is that it is staged in the Council Chamber of County Hall. With its lofty ceiling and imposingly high chairs, it’s an exciting enough venue to be in even before the play starts. Make sure to get there early to appreciate the space, and to have a snoop around inside County Hall.
The setting comes into its down during the court scenes of Agatha Christie’s play (an adaptation of her 1925 short story). Leonard Vole is on trial for the murder of Emily French, an elderly woman he recently befriended- and who just happens to have changed her will the week before her death to leave him all her money. As Vole, Joshua Glenister is one of many new cast members in the production. He brings an instant charm to Cockney prettyboy Vole, but is it the same charm he used to win over Emily French before killing her? That’s the question the jury, and the audience, must decide.
That jury, by the way, are made up of twelve audience members who are sworn in at the beginning of the show, and one of whom serves as the foreman to deliver the verdict. It seems a fun way to experience the play, but at £95 a ticket for an only-slightly-better view than the stalls, it doesn’t look entirely worth the cost.
Vole is represented by his solicitor, played by Peter Landi, and his barrister, played by Owen Oakeshott. Oakeshott’s performance as a brilliant, smarmy barrister is one of the highlights of the show. Witness For The Prosecution is at its most fun when he, and the prosecution barrister played by James Hayes, question the witnesses. Nobody saw Vole commit the murder, and it’s the 1950s so there’s limited forensic evidence. Vole’s innocence rests on the witnesses’ testimony. The audience aren’t just witnessing the case unfold, we’re part of it, and it is terrific fun to follow along and try to decide if you think Vole is guilty. There was only one topic of discussion at the bar during the interval: “Do you think he did it?”.
Witness For The Prosecution’s characters are uniformly cliches, from World-Weary Judge to Straight-Talking Northern Housemaid. This old-fashioned characterisation is absolutely part of its charm, and demonstrates why Christie’s mysteries remain so popular. Well, that and her skill at writing twist endings. Witness For The Prosecution doesn’t disappoint in that regard, and the denouement is gripping.
It’s difficult to imagine how anybody could not enjoy this play. Witness For The Prosecution is entertaining, engrossing, and staged in an excellent venue which enhances the experience. The mystery plot is simple to follow but addictively tricky to work out. This is popular entertainment at its best.
During the final days of Germany’s crumbling Third Reich, the once efficient and mechanised nation has become a volatile and dangerous place, with the lives of potentially thousands of concentration camp inmates hanging in the balance. In Ben Brown’s new play, physiotherapist Felix Kersten (Michael Lumsden) attempts to convene a secret meeting between his Nazi patient Heinrich Himmler (Richard Clothier) and a Swedish member of the World Jewish Congress, Norbert Masur (Ben Caplan).