Theatre News

Les Dennis stars in UK tour of Peter James' Perfect Murder

The production will see bestselling detective Roy Grace take to the stage for the first time

Les Dennis
Les Dennis

A stage adaptation of Peter James' crime novel The Perfect Murder, part of his bestselling series centring on Brighton-based detective Roy Grace, will tour the UK next year starring Les Dennis.

The novel centres on Victor Smiley (Les Dennis) and his wife Joan, who have been married for a long time. But Victor secretly loathes Joan and is getting attention elsewhere. And Joan is bored stiff by Victor, whose irritating ways are driving her mad. The marriage has reached a crisis point and Victor decides there is only one way to get Joan out of his life forever – but he’s about to get a nasty surprise.

Novelist Peter James has sold over 15 million books of his Roy Grace series and been published in 36 languages. This production, which is directed by Olivier Award winner Ian Talbot, is the first time his work has been adapted for the stage.

The Perfect Murder has been adapted by Shaun McKenna (The Lord of The Rings musical) and will open at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford on 8 January 2014. It will tour to venues including Bath, Brighton, Coventry, Norwich, Glasgow, Manchester, Southampton and Richmond.

The cast also includes Claire Goose (Mount Pleasant), Gray O’Brien (Coronation Street), Steven Miller (Casualty) and Simona Armstrong (How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria).

The Perfect Murder is produced by Joshua Andrews and Peter James, in association with Paul Tyrer and Jamie Clark at the Booking Office.