Murder at Midnight tour and cast announced

A new thriller from Torben Betts (Murder in the Dark) will embark on a UK tour later this year.

Murder at Midnight is said to prove “that even the best-laid plans can unravel spectacularly when the wrong people are in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.” It follows Jonny “The Cyclops,” who is holding a New Year’s Eve party in rural Kent, when a trail of destruction emerges.

The production reunites Betts with director Philip Franks and is produced by Original Theatre. Franks describes the piece as “Feydau rewritten by Tarantino,” saying it is “a dark and often very funny thriller set in the luxury Kent mansion of a one-eyed drug dealer, pig farmer and possible gangland killer.”

Set to star in the tour, which kicks off this autumn, are Jason Durr, Susie Blake, and Max Bowden, with more names in the cast and creative team to be announced.

Bowden commented: “I’m excited to begin working on this ambitious new dark comedy from a writer and a team I admire greatly. It’s a new challenge and an exciting shift for my career, and I’m looking forward to working with Original Theatre again.”

It’ll open at Derby Theatre on 5 September, before travelling to Birmingham Rep (16 to 20 September), Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham (23 to 27 September), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (30 September to 4 October), Malvern Theatres (7 to 11 October), Palace Theatre, Southend (13 to 18 October), York Theatre Royal (21 to 25 October), Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (27 to 31 October), New Theatre, Cardiff (4 to 8 November), Fareham Live (18 to 22 November) and Churchill Theatre Bromley (25 to 29 November). Further dates are to be revealed.