DESIGN FOR MURDER - THEATRE REVIEW

DESIGN FOR MURDER AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 17 - Saturday 21 June 2014

Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 17 June 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

PLEASE NOTE: There is a lack of supplemental images in this review due to there being no production stills of Design for Murder available.

ID Plays’ Summer Season 2014 at the Wolverhampton Grand continues this week with Design for Murder, a self-proclaimed ‘psychological drama’ as opposed to the more atypical murder mystery mould it’s title may first evoke. After a mixed audience and critical response to the season’s first show, Ladies in Retirement, it is encouraging to see ID springing back to form with a cracking, twisty-turny evening of drama, intrigue and even the odd giggle. Design for Murder may not be anything the estates of Conan Doyle or Christie need worry about, but it is nonetheless a consummately entertaining piece of theatre that is genuinely intelligent in places, has the decency to not take itself too seriously and offers enough U-turns and revelations to keep even the most ardent Marple enthusiast second guessing right up until the end.

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW: ARGO

ARGO
Release Date: 9 November 2012 (UK)
Director: Ben Affleck
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman
Screening Reviewed: UK Premiere (London Film Festival Accenture Gala Screening)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

At face value, you’d be forgiven for expecting Argo to be a fairly generic and standard Hollywood CIA/espionage thriller, freshly sprung from the conveyer belt of formulaic genre fare. Being based on true events lent it that extra dash of intrigue and clout, but was hardly a new or original prospect. Credit must go, first and foremost then, to director-star Ben Affleck who, after proving his directorial mettle with his impressive debut Gone Baby Gone and follow-up The Town, has crafted a movie that is anything but.