Witness for the Prossecution Production photos , taken on 27th September 2022 at the County Hall , London
Agatha Christie’s WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION celebrates its fifth anniversary with a polished, faultless performance from a truly talented cast.
Agatha Christie’s WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION is set in the 1950s and centres around the character of Leonard Vole who is accused of murdering a wealthy, older lady; Emily French and who as a result of her death is set to inherit a large portion of her wealth. With every new piece of information and plot change the audience are always left questioning if his legal team will save him from being found guilty and being hung and in the end whether he committed the murder in the first place or not.
This play is performed in the old London Council chambers at County Hall which from the velvet covered sets and dark wooden, decorated furniture perfectly replicates as a trial court of the 1950s. The set is simple but effective with each scene change done almost as a well-rehearsed dance with those props which were used being specially chosen for authenticity of the time and story. Even before the play starts cast members interact with audience members, in character explaining to them court procedures (for those lucky enough to be seated in a jury seat) or questioning women why they are not accompanied by a man as would be the questioning of the time. The voice and dialect coach Edda Sharpe has done a fantastic job making every characters’ voice and accent a crucial element of how their character is defined and seen. The sound and light team work effectively together to transport the audience into the play and on the journey with the characters as if walking or sat with them. Chris Davey’s lighting designs create added suspense and focus the audience’s attention whilst Mic Pool’s decision to embed speakers into the back and front of the theatre seating creates background court noise to increase that feeling of really being in the actual trial court.
Witness for the Prossecution Production photos , taken on 27th September 2022 at the County Hall , London
What a way to celebrate its 5th anniversary with such a polished, faultless performance from a truly talented cast. Harry Reid (Leonard Vole) plays his character so well that you see him exactly how Agatha Christie and Vole himself wanted his legal team and the jury to. He makes the audience invested in his character’s testimonies and innocence, making them question the information thrown at them and unconsciously encouraging them to draw their own conclusions. Naomi Sheldon (Romaine Vole) with support of Dugald Bruce-Lockhart (Sir Wildred) and Jonathan Coote (Mr Mayhew) was fantastic adding perfectly placed humour to her scenes without reducing the suspense as well speaking in such a way that she convincingly made the audience question what they thought had happened with every point she made. Lucy Tregear (Janet Mackensie) choice of voice and body language made her humorous character truly memorable despite only being on stage for a few minutes.
From start to finish, with every plot change and turn those watching will be drawn in to the story, second guessing what is going to happen next and ultimately the fate of Leonard Vole. Yet no one fully sees the ending coming leaving the audience shocked and talking about the end well after the play has finished.
Witness for the Prossecution Production photos , taken on 27th September 2022 at the County Hall , London
The final credit must go to Director Lucy Bailey for not only the cast and acting but also how they were directed to act to include the audience wherever they sat. In every scene the cast moved around and changed position to give thoughts sat in difference places a different perspective and vision of each character. This truly clever decision also means that it is a play that can be seen multiple times as how you see the play, the things you notice and your memory of the final few scenes will change as you see it from a different seat in the court.
Witness for the Prosecution runs at London’s County Hall until 16 April 2023.
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