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"I've never met a man who could undress me with his eyes while |
There is still time to catch the last few performances of this play and it is well worth doing so. The story by James M. Cain was made into a classic film noir and this production retains the same sharp, deadpan delivery. The play is totally engaging with a gripping plot and complex characters that have been brilliantly portrayed.
Walter Huff is an insurance salesman who falls in love with the wife of a client. He uses the business wisdom imparted by his mentor, Jackson, to construct an audacious plan to stage a perfectly convincing accidental death for Phyllis's husband. He wants to win the woman and make their fortune from her husband's new insurance policy in one fell swoop.
After the crime, Huff and Phyllis have to keep apart until suspicion dies down. However, he is tortured by fear as Jackson becomes suspicious and tells Huff each step of his plan to discover the murderer. The risk of betrayal caused by the lovers' forced separation means that their love turns into hatred and mistrust.
Unusually for a crime story, we know whodunnit as the murderers act out their recorded confessions, but there are still plenty of surprises in store. By the half-way point in the play, we are asking who is most responsible for the crime. Huff is the prime mover behind the murder and is desperate to make his fortune but is Phyllis a femme fatale who lured him into the act? The answer is eventually provided by the projected figures that haunt both the stage and the past of the characters.
Check out other Theatre reviews by Adrian Bhagat
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