Thriller at the Criterion theatre lacked pace - and punch

[dutchman]

Dead Guilty, Criterion Theatre, Earlsdon, on until Saturday (March 31).

Box office: 05601 277 975.

EVEN with the talented Doreen Belton as its director, I couldn’t be swept along by Dead Guilty, the Criterion’s psychological drama on offer all this week.

There’s something about the storyline which is just so plodding and, dare I say, predictable.

Not that Lucile Knibb didn’t shine in her debut role at the Earlsdon theatre. She plays Julia, the young graphic designer injured in a car driven by somebody else’s husband - a man she just happens to be having an affair with. Julia‘s character is spiky and bitter - but throughout Act One there was only one real flash of anger that made me wake-up. This was when she lashes out at neighbour Gary, played by Pete Meredith, who is getting a little too close for comfort.

Then there’s kindly social worker Anne (Emma Withers), who also seems to be a tad irritating to jumpy, wise-cracking Julia, and finally the ‘oh-so-kind’ Margaret, the grieving widow played by Chris Ingall with not quite enough saccharine menace for my taste.

True, things do hot up after the interval, and Julia’s gradual deterioration is very convincing, especially her trembling, stick-wielding self as she finally grasps the true nature of the enemy within.

On Saturday, first-night nerves did lead to one unfortunate husband/wife slip of the tongue from Chris, though I’m sure she won’t be making that mistake again.

Nor was I sure about the voiceover finale which seemed a bit clunky.

Apart from a sideswipe at lawyers and rats, playwright Richard Harris doesn’t seem particularly hot on dialogue in this piece, which relies heavily on timing and atmosphere. Sadly on Saturday night there wasn’t quite enough of either.

Verdict: Not quite menacing enough.

Barbara Goulden