Go Back for Murder (Tour – Darlington)

Go Back for Murder is a classic whodunit, following the story of Carla Le Marchant has she tries to solve the riddle of whether her mother killed her father. Helped along by Solicitor, Justin Fogg she finally solves the mystery.

Being classic Christie we are lead up many blind alleys and given red herrings aplenty before the real killer is finally unmasked. Sophie Ward plays the dual role of Carla and her mother Caroline. Unfortunately it stretches the imagination too far to be convinced that Ward is a 25 year old Canadian, but she redeems herself in the 2nd half when playing her mother. Ben Nealon is thoroughly likeable as Fogg and breaks the fourth wall talking the audience through the re-inactments that get to the truth. Gary Mavers has the deceased Amyas Crale is excellent, playing tortured artist to perfection.

However the good parts, especially the second half, are outnumbered by the bad. Overacting a plenty notably by Lysette Anthony as Elsa and Sammy Andrews as Angela, and noticeably stilted performances from Antony Edridge and Robert Duncan playing the Blake brothers makes the first half difficult viewing. But special mention must go out to the scene shifters who work hard in the first half to make us believe we are in 5 different locations in and around London. And the lighting and the music work well in the second half helping us to jump from past to present to find our murderer.