The Centenary Theatre Group presents Verdict by Agatha Christie

Chelmer Community Theatre, Chelmer

9^th Nov- 1^st Dec 2024

 

Dr Gemma Regan

 

Executed masterfully, a must for any Christie fan!

 

Christie enthusiast Director David Bell and the Centenary Theatre Group would have ‘done Christie proud’ by producing a well-cast psychological drama bursting with intrigue and deception.

 

In the world of crime fiction, Agatha Christie is the master manipulator, with 75 novels selling well over 100 million copies and best sellers galore. Her staged ‘Who Dunnit’s’ are wildly popular, with the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap, still captivating audiences 72 years later! The CTG have turned the usual Murder Mystery upside down with Agatha Christie’s psychological drama Verdict, where the killer is known and the mystery is who will be accused or acquitted. 

 

Verdict was one of the few stories written by Christie directly for the stage, opening in the West End at the Strand Theatre in 1958 to wide acclaim. Christie exclaimed, “It satisfied me completely. I still think it is the best play I have written, with the exception of Witness for the Prosecution.” 

 

The two acts are set in the living room of Professor Hendryk’s flat in Bloomsbury, the literary part of London near the British Museum. The set is a detailed representation of an academic’s middle-class living room, littered with books and soft furnishings, and works very well as a focus of interest throughout the play. Serena's costumes are also effective, representing middle-class England during the 1950s.

 

Hendryk played as a calm, gentle man by Erik de Wit, is a brilliant professor who lives with his wife Anya (Laura Renée) and her cousin Lisa, played brilliantly by Betsy Appelhof. They settle in London after fleeing persecution in their homeland in Europe, with the professor lecturing and tutoring private students to support his sick wife. 

 

The devious Helen Rollander (Narelle McGhee) is the spoilt daughter of millionaire tycoon Sir William Rollander (Richard Edwards), who demands private lessons with the professor with disastrous results.

 

Verdict is a slow-burning psychological drama that depends on the quality of the actors to sustain the suspense, which the CTG cast did very well. Despite witnessing the murder, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out how the inquiry would unfold. De Wit skilfully plays Hendryk, the shy idealist who forgives misdemeanors of others, including the theft of his books by his trusted ebullient student Lester. The busy Kip Jeffree has a superb toffee-nosed English accent as Lester, in his tenth play in two years!

 

Keith Scrivens is a Columbo-styled Detective, using pauses to make the suspects squirm while grilling them on their alibis. Jill Brocklebank is adept as the typical cockney housekeeper, obsessed with tea but as sharp as a tack, while lacking in it! Lewis Chatten is the calmly played  friend and physician of the family, Dr Stoner.

 

Renée has an intriguing Eastern European accent and, although young, is convincing as the moaning invalid and burden to her husband. Betsy is flawless as the protagonist's cousin Lisa. The collected, diligent physicist playing nursemaid to Anya while burning with unrequited love. The cast worked well together and each played their role effectively making it easy to follow the narrative.

Although I still prefer the silliness of The Mousetrap, the CTG production of Verdict is a must for any Christie fan, executed masterfully!