This tour presents  a world premiere of  Middleground Theatre’s comic pastiche of the  Frederick Knott 1950’s classic  “Dial M For Murder”. Someone thinks that it would be a good idea to debut their play in the wilds of Scotland on  the village hall circuit, and so the tale unfolds. Anyone who has been in a touring   theatrical company  or rock band will anticipate the frictions that inevitably unfold and will not be disappointed.

The original play and story are the work of Englishman Frederick Knott ( 1952) but the story was popularised by Alfred  Hitchcock’s 1954 film featuring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. This pastiche  is set in 1991 by  writer Margaret Hobbs   who delivers a verbose, dense, script laced with punchy gags which is stronger in setting the scene in the first act,  than it is in the denouement in the second, but is nonetheless impressive in its construction and execution.

Numerous set pieces entertain, the vagaries of  the inclement Scottish climate ( rain), personality clashes, a shepherd and his television obsessed sheep dog, ,a romantic caber tossing interlude amongst them. However it is the perennially reliable flatulence jokes, and Norman the  errant pet rat ( borrowed from Fawlty Towers?) , which deliver the best laughs.

The film created big shoes to fill. Luke Rhodri plays Sean Farrell (the Ray Milland character of the original film) , and Isabella Inchbald plays Sam Middleton –  Grace Kelly’s role , keep the chaos on the road, combining their narrative and comic responsibilities very adeptly. Meanwhile, Joey Lockhart (George the AA Man) and Julian Brooke)  provide the best of the comedy.

 Directed and designed by Michael Lunney the company are reprising their recent stage  success with courtroom  drama The Verdict. Lunney does well to keep the laughter rolling without allowing the entire production to be derailed.

The show stars six talented actors – all of whom  excel and give great performances amidst the M for Mayhem,  with everything that could go wrong , going wrong,  The evening is bullet proof from mistakes because the audience simply think them part of the show in this play within a play format which plays at Derby until Saturday 7^th September, then continues on national tour.