WOS TV: Star-studded Deathtrap Opening Night
Last night’s opening of Deathtrap was a star-studded affair, with actors from stage and screen in attendance to support acting legend Simon Russell Beale, Glee star Jonathan Groff, Outnumbered actress Claire Skinner and Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons.
Spotted amongst the audience were Damian Lewis, Barbara Windsor, Michael Ball and Stephen Fry. Below we’ve got not one, but two opening night reports, which include interviews with the cast, some of the celebrity guests’ opinions on the show, and a special Whatsonstage.com mention from none other than Jonathan Groff.
The action centres on Sidney (Russell Beale), a once-celebrated thrillers author who’s now suffering from writer’s block. While waiting for inspiration, he receives a brilliant script from one of his former writing students, Clifford (Groff). The temptation is too much. With the help of his wife, Sidney plots to murder his protégé and market the young man’s sure-fire thriller as his own. But, as in any good thriller, twists and turns follow in abundance.
First opened in 1978 in New York, Deathtrap went on to become Broadway’s longest running thriller. That same year, it premiered in London at the West End’s Garrick Theatre in a production starring Dennis Quilley and Rosemary McHale. In 1982, it was made into a film starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.
