Deathtrap: A Pure Thrill

A murder mystery thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Ira Levin's Deathtrap provides a welcome, comedic contrast to the many heavy dramas that are currently running on the West End. Sydney Bruhl, played by the renowned Simon Russel Beale, is a middle-aged playwright going through a writer's block. When he receives an outstanding script in the mail from one of his creative writing students, becomes so jealous he hatches a plan to invite this budding young writer over, murder him, and claim the story as his own. Needless to say, this is far from what ultimately happens. The story takes many unexpected twists and turns, which, as a note in the program requests, I will not elaborate on here.

The thrill that embodies the production comes alive through the synthesis of a realistic setting and fantastical events. The set, designed by Robert Howell, is breathtaking, immediately drawing the audience into the rustic, creaking house. In addition, the atmospheric lighting, hair-raising soundtrack, and cracks of thunder makes one feel as though he or she has been thrust into a horror movie, and work together to create a chilling vibe throughout the space. Within this naturalistic environment, however, we are led through a maze of implausible events that take us out of reality and provide the entertaining escape that brings us to the theatre. In her essay "Stage Fright: Making The Audience Jump" that accompanies the program, Susan Hill writes, "To enjoy being frightened, to need to be frightened, in a controlled safe environment seems to be a basic human need...We may be threatened by illness, accidents and other uncomfortable ways to meet a sticky end once we leave the world of the play...But those are real, everyday fears. In the theatre, the actors wish us no harm and yet we need to believe and fear that the characters they play just might."

The thriller genre has been around for decades, and with Deathtrap director Matthew Warchus proves that it can indeed still be successfully presented on the stage.