After the thoroughly entertaining ‘Murdered to Death,’ Nottingham Theatre Royal’s Classic Thriller Season continues with Tabs Productions’ take on ‘Fatal Encounter’ by Francis Durbridge.
The plot centres around Joanna Mansfield (Wonderfully portrayed by Hannah Blaikie), the wife of successful publisher Howard Mansfield (John Goodrum). A series of bizarre, and at times unnecessary, events set the stage for a shocking discovery: Howard returns home one evening to find that Joanna has accidentally killed Perry Kingsley (Pav Maru), the husband of her best friend, Grace (Kia Pope). In an odd effort to protect his wife from a crime — that would have been put down to self defence anyway — Howard takes the blame for shooting Kingsley and finds himself in a world of blackmail and conspiracy.
Given that the cast had only three days to prepare, they did an impressive Job bringing the play to life. However, the quick turnaround sometimes showed in small details, such as the inspector Chris Coldwell (Played fantastically by Sarah Lynne Kordas) being referred to as both male and female throughout the performance. This lead to the audience calling out to the stage to correct this constant misgendering.
John Goodrum’s portrayal of Howard Mansfield was a highlight, delivering a believable and commanding performance. Hannah Blaikie equally impressed, convincingly portraying Joanna’s neurosis and paranoia. While Pav Maru is clearly a talented actor (as shown in his previous role), this particular character didn’t suit him well — he’s simply too liable to be a convincing manipulator. The rest of the cast, including David Osmond as Rex Winter, Jeremy Lloyd Thomas as Mark Adler, and Susan Earnshaw as Hilary Van Zale, also delivered solid performances.
The real issue here lies not with the production, but with Durbridge’s script. The plot is packed with fast-paced twists and turns, but many of them feel irrelevant or unexplained. Red herrings about, yet the constant focus on a particular painting makes the mystery too obvious, with little payoff. The character of Hilary Van Zale is introduced I the first scene, then forgotten until much later to deliver a heap of exposition, making their involvement feel forced. And when Rex Winder is murdered, it happens so quickly that it barely registers in the already convoluted storyline.
While ‘Fatal Encounter’ didn’t quite hit the mark for me, the production was still an enjoyable evening of theatre, thanks to a talented ensemble who presented the material remarkably well. I’m definitely looking forward to the next instalment of the Classic Thriller Season — though I won’t be rushing to see another Francis Durbridge play anytime soon.
‘Fatal Encounter’ runs at the Theatre Royal Nottingham until Saturday 17th of August, followed by the dark and intriguing ‘Veronica’s Room’ the next week. Don’t miss it!
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