REVIEW: Dial M For Murder, The Customs House, South Shields

Talking Scarlet returned to the Customs House this weekend with Dial M For Murder.

After seeing their fantastic production of Stone Cold Murder last year, I had high hopes for the show, and it certainly delivered.

The soap star cast gave a thrilling and provocative performance in a show that forever twisted and turned.

Tony Wendice (Oliver Mellor) plans to have his wife Sheila (Terri Dwyer) murdered.

He has discovered her infidelity with Max Halliday (Marcus Hutton) and wants her dead so he can inherit her money.

He coerces Captain Lesgate (Jolyon Young) into carrying out the grisly deed for him, but when it all goes wrong, it falls to Inspector Hubbard (John Hester) to figure out what happened.

This isn’t so much a whodunnit, as the audience is in on the plan from the very beginning but watching Tony try to cover his tracks as his plan unravels is tense and exciting.

The cast do an impeccable job of keeping the audience gripped throughout this quintessentially-British play.

The show takes place entirely in one room and the set is brilliant. The costumes are great too. They’re fitting to the time period and Dwyer has some stunning outfits.

The only thing I couldn’t quite fathom was her hair. She wore a styled wig in the first act, but came back in the second with her hair in a ponytail – did she forget to put her wig back on?

My only real issue with the play was the sheer lack of bums in seats during the Saturday matinee.

A fantastic piece of theatre was on offer right here on our doorstep, and few people turned out to see it. It was worthy of a sell-out crowd.

I can only hope this theatre company returns soon with another of these cracking productions, and that when they do, they get the audience numbers they deserve.