Review: Deathtrap

Dilemmas…everybody has them and most of us don’t know what to do about them. People in this world deal with dilemmas both large and small and often have to resort to extreme measures to dig themselves out. This is a very real part of everyday human life and is an almost intrinsic element of theatre. Every piece of theatre out there involves some sort of a dilemma for a character that the show (usually) revolves around and how they are able to identify their problem and find a solution that may or may not be successful. In “Deathtrap” Ira Levin is able to take the commonality of a human dilemma and turn it completely on its head producing a well written and twisted murder thriller.

I had the opportunity to view the show about a week ago with Laura and Alisha, two wonderful people whom I know are going to become dear friends of mine after becoming almost attached at the hip for a good week-end. We decided impromptu to go and see a show in the West End on a Saturday and we started coming up with suggestions. They both wanted to see a musical but I’m not exactly the musical type. I suggested “Deathtrap” because it had received very good reviews, it ended soon, and it starred Jonathon Groff (of “Glee” fame) alongside a host of others. This was “go” at that point and we picked up tickets on the day of thanks to a lovely cheap ticket shop called TKTS and were in to the Noel Coward Theatre to see the show.

From lights down you knew that you were in for a treat. The production used a clever technique to project an image of the title of the show being typed onto the curtain like a typewriter. This instantly screamed big budget and when the curtains came up the set confirmed it. The stage was lavishly decorated from downstage to upstage, left and right. The setting is a study in a hunting lodge owned by the main character Sidney. The designers (and the builders for that matter) clearly took a considerable amount of time to put this all together. There are working doors at two different points on stage, a fire place practical enough to actually burn paper in, tables, chairs, desks, medieval weapons, hunting trophies, knick knacks, and more festooned all over the place. It had the organization that a proper set should have while still portraying the chaos that a writer’s thinking space should have. This set is changed periodically throughout the show but since it entirely takes place in this study there’s no need to have everything movable. It was a work of art to behold and difficult to capture in words. There was a true feeling of being welcomed into the home of Sidney and his wife while being voyeurs into the escapades that would unfold.

The story itself was very twisted and, I must admit, difficult to follow at times. I don’t want to talk too much about the plot of the show because I don’t want to ruin the “ah ha!” moments. As it is a thriller there are many different moments where you think something has happened onstage when it’s the opposite, lots of twists. M. Night Shyamalan would be a fan. The storyline moves at an incredible pace throughout the first act with actors almost tripping over their own lines as they move about the stage. This is where all of the action takes place involving Sidney, his wife, and Clifford (played by Groff). After this action packed first act, the second act is pedestrian at best and deliberately so. The characters now become much more intertwined than before and we begin to delve into their relationships and intentions…information we were not privy to only scenes before. It helps to clarify what has happened before and we get to move on. I thought it was especially well conceived because we were able to enjoy the first act for what it was, have a break, and then dive into some serious character analysis in the second act before everything is wrapped up. The two acts are a lovely contrast to one another and full of unpredictable events.

The acting was also quite enjoyable for the most part. Simon Russell Beale and Groff are wonderful as Sydney and Clifford respectively. The entire show surrounds their turbid relationship as professionals and more twisted and winding through a plot of inconceivable atrocity. Beale played a man who was clearly at a cross roads in his life and could for his life think of what to do. He deliberately does not stop pacing around the stage and there is hardly a moment when he is not calm or standing still. This becomes a contrast in the second half when he becomes much more calm, comfortable, and stationary (much like the plot) with Clifford around. Groff’s character is fun, energetic, and youthful. He cuts an innocent, enthusiastic type but tantalizes us with his range of acting skills as we are revealed to his true intentions. I was unfortunately disappointed with Claire Skinner’s portrayal of Myra, Sydney’s wife. Although the character is quite the caregiver for Sydney, there was no sense of softness or love in her voice at all. This is a character that becomes highly emotionally wrapped up in the play’s events and has a severe heart condition but the lines Skinner delivers were bland and almost indulgent to a point. She did not seem within her own element in the performance and it’s unfortunate because there are elements of what I wanted to see from her but it just wasn’t coming through as much as I would have liked.  Terry Beaver and Estelle Parsons play Porter and Helga respectively. Porter is Sydney’s lawyer and, although a minor character, he is integral to driving the story. Helga is a wonderfully hilarious psychic who becomes intertwined in the plot while warning the cast of things to come. Some much needed comic relief to the intense and thrilling scenes surrounding her appearances. Most of the actors talked extremely quickly and were spitting out speeches like they were on the meter. However, the plot moved along smoothly (particularly in the second half) and became easier to follow as it progressed.

One of the most delightfully confusing elements to this entire production is the play “Deathtrap” itself. Now…you’re probably a little confused right now. The play “Deathtrap” is a script being written on stage by the characters…whilst also performing the play “Deathtrap”. The actors are literally performing the play that’s being written as it’s being written. So, it’s a play being written in a play that is the play that it’s being written in. With me so far? I know…don’t worry too much about it. It gets quite confusing in the show itself but it’s also used as a fascinating plot device. Now, the first act is already written in terms of the “Deathtrap” that is being written in the show. However, once we hit the midway point the characters are working on the second act of the show while in the second act of the show. Soon, they work so far ahead that they are writing an ending to their show before we’ve even seen it! It almost becomes frustrating but we are inevitably hooked to seeing everything take place that only seem like they were written on a whim on stage. One hilarious moment takes place when Sydney begins to read the set description while walking around the stage. Of course, in his world he thinks he is just reading a set interpretation of his house when in fact he is reading a literal description of what is around him in terms of props and set design. Again, it’s very VERY difficult to place into words, it’s something you’d have to see in order to appreciate.

Although the acting becomes a bit rapid and points and the plot itself becomes jumbled within about six different dimensions, “Deathtrap” by Ira Levin is a wonderful show. I have not seen it being performed anywhere else before but if any of you get the chance to please go and see it. I cannot for the life of me do the ingenious plot design justice with my feeble words. It’s something that needs to be experienced through sight and sound rather than stationary words on a computer screen. The perpetual confusion that takes place within this show becomes entirely representative of what Levin is really trying to show…dilemma, and with that he succeeds with flying colours.