​Review: A thoroughly enjoyable ride with twists galore on Kenilworth stage

Plots in which spouses, friends or business partners fall out and decide that murder is the only escape route are fairly routine. But two crime writers falling out gives a fresh twist where the protagonists have the wherewithal to come up with cunning plans and plot twists as they would in one of their joint novels.

Harry Kent (Des McCann) and Paul Riggs (Alan Wales) have a successful track record of crime writing and award-winning TV police dramas.

But all is not rosy in the garden. Cracks start to appear in the working relationship as Harry and Paul spar.

Director Dave Crossfield’s excellent direction pits Harry, with a fastidious work ethic and eye for detail, against Paul, an ideas-man whose gambling and drinking are draining the pair’s finances and creativity.

Harry’s luxury flat bought from the proceeds of success, another superb set design by John Ellam, is the scene of a confrontation between Harry and Paul. The tension builds as Harry decides to ditch Paul, who, knowing a skeleton in Harry’s cupboard, retaliates with a threat of blackmail. Harry now has a motive for murder, ironically using an idea suggested by Paul as a plot for one of their murder mysteries.

Paul’s wife Emma (Ruth MacCallum) is an unwilling accomplice and the arrival of Inspector Egan (Christopher Stanford) causes her to panic. Christopher gives Egan a rather Columbo-type bumbling naivety that one suspects hides a much more astute brain. Can Harry and Emma hold their alibi together under stress to rid themselves of the parasitic Paul?

This reviewer is not going to give away any spoilers but the plot takes various twists, which keep us guessing right to the end. All the cast were faultless, with Des and Alan in particular having lengthy roles. This is a thoroughly enjoyable evening’s entertainment and the Talisman’s fourth sell-out production in a row, which is richly deserved.

The production, directed by Dave Crossfield, is sold out throughout its run. Visit talismantheatre.co.uk or call 856548 for information about future productions at the theatre.