Dangerous Corner Review

‘Telling the truth is about as safe as skidding round a corner at sixty’ asserts Charles Stanton in the first scene of ‘Dangerous Corner’ by J B Priestley, currently showing at The Apollo Theatre, Newport.

‘And life’s got a lot of dangerous corners,’ agrees his hostess Freda Caplan. Her husband Robert is confident that he can negotiate round these corners successfully, and discover the truth about the death of his brother Martin. Along the way however, he does indeed skid into many unpleasant truths, with a denouement that invites the audience to question whether honesty is always the best policy.

The catalyst to this quest for truth is a chance remark about a cigarette box which is pursued by Robert, capturing the interest of their dinner guest, novelist Maud Mockridge, played by Maureen Sullivan, clearly on the trail of a plot for her new book.

Steve Reading as Robert Caplan steers the play believably through its treacherous waters, weathering revelation upon revelation towards the inevitable finality. His real wife Helen plays Freda with equal skill, evoking empathy with her own anguish, yet laughter with her ‘light touch’ as she ponders the social etiquette around offering sandwiches to a guest about to be accused of criminal activity.

The young couple Gordon and Betty, played by Jack Tutt and Amelia Harvard, portray love’s young dream admirably at the beginning of the play; each actor dexterously tracing their character’s descent into despair as their own secrets are revealed.

Ian Moth as Stanton is the epitome of a 1930s upright middle-class gentleman who just about manages to retain his proverbial stiff upper lip despite being forced to admit that he is not what he wishes to appear to be.

Even Olwen, the trusted employee of the publishing company run by the three men, has her secrets, and Maria Wilkinson adroitly brushes off the questioning until she is forced to recount her experiences in  an intensely moving speech.

Each performance from this cast of experienced actors enhances the others on the stage, itself set beautifully to portray a typical 1930s drawing room. A special mention should also go to the costume department for the way in which each actor’s outfit illustrates their character.

If you enjoy a play that entertains wonderfully and leaves the audience with food for thought, I strongly recommend that you see ‘Dangerous Corner’ which plays at the Apollo until this Saturday, 20^th February.

To Lie or Not To Lie....

The stage is set: the home of Robert and Freda Caplin, an upper middle class 1930's drawing room. A prosperous couple, the centre of an intimate group of friends linked by family and business ties, they are holding one of their delightful dinner parties. The gentlemen are laughing over their brandy and jokes while the ladies have withdrawn to drink coffee and listen to a radio play 'about lies and a gentleman shooting himself''.

Total fiction of course. Or is it? As the evening's conversation begins to open up questions and suspicions, it does indeed reveal secrets and lies which, as their friend Olwen believes, may have been better off remaining hidden. Why did Robert's brother Martin commit suicide the previous year? Was his death connected to money going missing from their successful publishing company? Robert is determined to find out, but in pursuit of the truth he finds his whole world is not as it seems.

JB Priestley, best known for 'An Inspectior Calls', has written another tightly plotted mystery play which leaves us pondering the nature of truth in our society. Is it always best to tell the whole truth, or is it 'about as safe as skidding round a corner at sixty?'

If you think you know the answer, come at watch Dangerous Corner - it might just give you pause for thought. The play will be staged at The Apollo Theatre on February 12th, 13th and 16th - 20th; tickets available from the Apollo website.

I'll name that tune in......

Attention to detail is really important in staging a play, and the Apollo in Newport can certainly claim to have done that with its next production - the J B Priestley classic, Dangerous Corner.

The plot requires a cigarette box that plays a tune when you open the lid. The play's director, Di Evans found a box of the right vintage, but no-one could identify the tune until cast member Ian Moth approached Angel Radio, who played it on air and invited listeners to identify it. The phone rang within ten seconds and it turned out to be a Bing Crosby recording first made in 1928.  The vintage cigarette box is not quite the star of the show, but its music does play an important part.

Dangerous Corner is built around an intricate plot with plenty of intrigue, twists and turns, and the Apollo believes it will keep audiences gripped.  

All seems well at the Caplan’s independent publishing house, until a can of worms is opened at Robert and Freda Caplan’s dinner party. A chance remark plunges the guests into a re-examination of the mysterious events surrounding the recent death of Martin Caplan, and skeletons come crashing out of the closet.

The cast includes Jack Tutt, who was once a pupil of Di's at All Saints Primary in Freshwater.  He recently turned professional but is performing in this play alongside an experienced cast, as an amateur.

Dangerous Corner runs from February 12 to 13, and 16 to 20.

More information at www.apollo-theatre.org.uk

Di Evans directs some members of the Dangerous Corner cast: left to right - Maria Wilkinson, Amelia Havard, Steve Reading and Ian Moth, and Jack Tutt (seated).