Reviews

I read this play several years ago and didn’t find it particularly funny. Henry Lawson Theatre gave it a red hot go at convincing me otherwise.

Jason Darlington, making his directorial debut, showed tremendous promise in his first outing, bringing together a cast of HLT regulars, much to the delight of the full house, very supportive and highly amused audience.

Having resisted the temptation of The Mousetrap in London’s West End for the 20+ years I have lived there, I’m glad it was this Australian production that introduced me to the play. This is a top-notch cast and a fitting reminder of Agatha Christie’s contribution to our entertainment catalogue. Perhaps it is the recent lockdowns that have led to the revived popularity of Agatha’s work: she certainly was always ‘binge-worthy’ long before that expression existed.

The Attic Theatrical is a relatively new community theatre group on the central coast but they've certainly made a big splash with their latest production, Sweeney Todd.  Right from the get-go the Dickensian London atmosphere is appropriately dark, ominous and unsettling.  David Rowe's clever set design affords many entry points for the cast in an intimate setting that really draws the audience into the action.

In the Theatre Works foyer, a couple of loud, giggling party girl real estate agents (Eidan Glover and Polly Sara) invite the audience, four at a time, to inspect a beautiful house - that is, enter the theatre.  We notice that they wear curious tight-fitting plastic masks like the second skins of burns victims.  If we do notice, the grotesquery undercuts the hilarity.