Decades after its debut, Night Must Fall continues to add thrills to audiences!
Night Must Fall is 1935 psychological thriller written by Emlyn Williams. The story follows a charming stranger, Dan, who arrives in an isolated Essex home. He is quick to capture the trust of the elderly Mrs. Bramson, but her ward Olivia is suspicious of Dan’s true intentions. As these suspicions continue to grow stronger, Olivia finds herself in a dangerous game against Dan. The play has been well received for many years, being able to build tension effectively. This production is part of the Sheringham Little Theatre Summer programme, shows which you can watch throughout August and the start of September. Previous productions Little Shop of Horrors and Lend Me A Tenor were fantastic which makes watching the same actors again even more exciting. Night Must Fall is directed by Katie Thompson who is able to effectively create the tension throughout the story.
The characters are incredibly likeable with this cast bringing them to life perfectly. Tension is slowly built throughout as the audience, alongside the characters, unravel the mystery of the most recent murder. Lighting and sound were used effectively to build on the tension when needed. However, there is still lots of comedic moments which help to keep the story light-hearted at times. The set and costumes were also accurate to the time period being portrayed.
Lord Chief Justice is played by Harry Wyatt. Wyatt works as a storytelling device well, allowing for insight in the prologue. Nurse Libby is played by Bev Taylor. Taylor is able to make the audience laugh in her smaller role. Inspector Belsize is played by Donald Forbes. Forbes embodies the inspector, allowing for this authority figure within the household. Dora Parkoe is played by Attia Law. Dora is often described as ‘naive’ and Law is able to capture this in her performance. I especially liked her dynamics alongside Harding. Mrs Terence is played by Rachael Cummins. Mrs Terence is sharp-witted which Cummins plays authentically. Her added sarcasm allowed for humour to shine throughout the play.
Hubert Laurie is played by Jonathan Iceton. Hubert is described as ‘dull’ and Iceton is able to portray this very well throughout. Iceton also has great dynamics with Akinseye. Mrs Bramson is played by Susanna Harding. Harding excels in this role, being the traditional stern lady of the house. Her comedy was strong throughout.
Olivia Grayne is played by Anu Akinseye. Akinseye gets what makes Olivia and projects this to the audience. Her slow understanding of Dan was acted well and I enjoyed seeing her take the lead. Dan is played by Jonathan Houlston. Houlston is extremely dynamic in his acting and this role is no different. His kind, caring and thoughtful personality was believable, but his deadly side was also very strong.
Night Must Fall continues to play throughout August. Book your tickets here!
Tickets for this production were provided complimentary. Many thanks to Sheringham Little Theatre for organising and we wish you all the best with the remainder of the run!
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