Legal Fictions
January 22, 2008
Legal Fictions is written by Rumpole of the Bailey author John Mortimer ( who himself brought his own show to the Theatre Royal not too long ago). He used to be a practising barrister before becoming a novelist and playwright, so his stories involving barristers, judges and the British legal system are always witty and a delight to watch.
Edward Fox (still remembered for TVs Edward and Mrs Simpson and the film Day of the Jackal) tackles two very different roles in Legal Fictions. In the two handed play, Dock Brief, we have him as the barrister Morgenhall trying to save Fowle (played by Nicholas Woodeson) from being found guilty of murdering his wife. Unfortunately Morgenhall is an incompetent barrister and despite rehearsing his client with a great defence allows everything to go terribly wrong in court.
But Mortimers take on the law, and inside knowledge, makes sure we are kept guessing as to the actual ending of the story, which has a nice twist too it.
After the interval the bare court room cell is replaced with the back garden and conservatory of Sir Fennimore Truscott (Fox), a retired High Court Judge, in a play called Edwin. Truscott spends his days trying as many court cases, in his imagination, as he can from the comfort of his garden chair, which has even included his dog for digging up the garden.
But he has always been overly suspicious of the friendship his wife (played by Polly Adams) has with their neighbour Tom (Woodeson) and when his son ( the unseen Edwin) pays them an all too rare visit, his mind works overtime. When he finds out Edwin wrote to Tom as he grew up and not his father, Fennimore believes that is reason enough to question who his father actually is. The solution he believes is to place Tom and his wife on trial, in the back garden, to find out the truth.
Typically Mortimer makes sure that the journey we are taken on is both witty and full of surprises before we reach a conclusion.
Fox and Woodeson are to be congratulated on playing two very different characters in the course of the show.
Both plays are entertaining, thought provoking and witty, although I did find the Edwin story slightly over long. But Legal Fictions again proves no one can write about our legal system and the characters who are part of its everyday existence like John Mortimer.
Legal Fictions plays until Saturday 26th at the Theatre Royal Newcastle
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