A man is accused of killing a rich, old lady for her money. The evidence incriminates him but not conclusively. The man’s wife offers an alibi for him when questioned by Scotland Yard but testifies against him in court. Suspicion mounts. Doubts multiply. The suspense builds.
The play is Agatha Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution.” The question is whether Driftwood’s performance of the play is to be taken seriously or tongue in cheek.
Make no mistake, Leonard Vole (Boyd Morrison) stands out as the accused. The man is likeable enough to have easily charmed the deceased widow French into leaving her fortune to him. It is entirely possible they met by chance and got along marvelously. Yet, something about him doesn’t stack up. Goodhearted Joe or con man extraordinaire, it’s hard to say.
Same thing with Vole’s wife, Romaine (Rachel Rene). The woman’s German born, a British immigrant by way of marriage with Vole and understandably confused by English law. She feels duty bound to stand by her husband, yet has a horror of lying under oath and perjuring herself. So is she lying when she alibis him or when she testifies against him?
Sir Wilfred Robarts (William H. Bowen), Vole’s attorney, believes in his client’s innocence, discredits Mrs. V’s testimony and gets you to thinking his way. As does Vole’s solicitor, Mr. Mayhew (Tom Butterworth).
Laura Crouch (Janet McKenzie), the deceased’s loyal maidservant, bends your mind with damaging testimony as to Vole’s unscrupulous motives. Prosecuting attorney, Mr. Myers (Terence Boyd), makes a convincing case for Vole’s guilt.
A fine cast at the directing hand of Michelle Gillette does an incredible job keeping you on the edge of your seat through three of Christie’s four acts. You are roped in, toyed with, pushed, pulled and completely at the mercy of Driftwood’s players. The feat is perfectly keeping with Dame Agatha Christie’s fiendish delight in manipulating audiences.
The answers come in the fourth act but not until very late in the game and so fast and so furious that you can’t help but wonder if you were duped into taking serious mystery seriously. The effect is farce, the notion that the whole thing is meant to be taken with a grain of salt. I’m still making up my mind.
But see for yourself. This is classic Agatha Christie done with a twist, perhaps.
Reactions? Comments? E-mail Dale Burrows at grayghost7@comcast.net.
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