Currently embarked upon a UK tour is the Agatha Christie Theatre Company’s latest production, Witness for the Prosecution. It features many of their regular actors who will be familiar to theatre audiences from their television roles, as well as from their previous shows for devotees.
Witness for the Prosecution is a departure because it isn’t a whodunit so much as a court room drama, in which the central question the audience is invited to ask is: is the young man on trial for his life guilty or innocent of murder? This question, and various answers offered by the defence, the prosecution and the witnesses, provide the foundation of the rest of the drama.
Ben Nealon plays Leonard Vole, a young man accused of the murder of an elderly, unmarried old woman, who finds that he stands to inherit her enormous fortune. He winds up, a desperate man, at the Chambers of Sir Wilfred Robarts QC (Denis Lill), who agrees to take his case, convinced, like the young man’s solicitor Mr Mayhew (Robert Duncan), of the innocence of their client.
Christie was a master storyteller, and this is as evident in her stage plays as it is in her crime novels. She delights in allowing the audience to reach conclusions about her characters, only to introduce a twist that makes them question everything and everyone. In this story, the chameleonic character who provides the first confounding of expectation is Leonard’s wife, Romaine (played by Honeysuckle Weeks), who is already set up by Robarts as probably untrustworthy on account of her German origins and sex. Visiting Robarts’ chambers, she is unable or unwilling to corroborate her husband’s story, leading to tense second act in court in which a massive amount of circumstantial evidence does seem to condemn the naïve young man to a guilty verdict.
It’s evident that the actors are familiar with working with one another as the interplay between the characters is a joy to watch, and the cast use every opportunity to inject humour into an otherwise tense story. Denis Lill, whilst lending Robarts a dignity and gravity, still provides much amusement, such as through his rivalry with Mr Myers, QC, who irritates him with his habit of clearing his throat and adjusting his wig.
The performances are consistently good. Honeysuckle Weeks’ German accent is variable, but this doesn’t matter as she is in complete control of Romaine’s changeable nature, knowing when to alter the tone and tempo. Denis Lill and Mark Wynter command the stage as the rival QCs, sparking off one another as the tide of the jury’s sympathies moves towards and away from Leonard. There are some lovely supporting characters too, particularly Jennifer Wilson’s batty old housekeeper Janet MacKenzie; and Peter Byrne’s delightful dry wit as Mr Justice Wainwright.
The transition between Robarts’ chambers and the court room is achieved thanks to some excellent design, and an original use of sound and lighting helps to smooth the transition between scenes. Director Joe Harmston demonstrates that he knows the story intimately, and provides for a few hours of engaging drama, full of the usual unexpected twists and turns that were Christie’s hallmark. Witness for the Prosecution is full of memorable characters, but it also provides an interesting look at British justice. The first leg of the tour runs until the end of July, with a second leg following in August and September.
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