Camden New Journal - Theatre: Trap for a lonely man

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

The Review - THEATRE by EMILY ORGAN
Published: 25 June 2009

Twists but no suspense

TRAP FOR A LONELY MAN
Lion and Unicorn Theatre

IT is clear why Hitchcock wanted to make Robert Thomas’s play Trap For A Lonely Man into a film.
It is a rollercoaster of intrigue and suspense, ending with a killer twist.
Set in a lonely French chalet, the action starts immediately, with an inspector quizzing a seemingly distraught husband (Joe Shefer) about the disappearance of his wife.
The plot darkens when his “wife” is returned by a shady priest, only for the husband to denounce them both as frauds intent on claiming his true wife’s inheritance. Thus the play develops with the inspector and audience trying to distinguish fact from fiction while the husband slowly descends into despair.
A gripping psychological thriller such as this should have been a nail-biting and claustrophobic affair. Unfortunately, although a thoroughly enjoyable watch, there was a complete lack of tension or atmosphere that rendered the whole story flat.
Director Lydia Milman Schmidt seemed confident when directing the play’s comic moments, the scene featuring the tramp (Steve Cain) and the husband being a high point, but was less sure when it came to directing the intrigue. Moments of real suspense are not allowed to linger, important revelations are rushed through and their impact is lost.
The unsureness in Schmidt’s direction filtered through to her lead, who did not seem comfortable with his character and needed a greater emotional range for him to be believable as a man brought to the brink of madness.
That said, the quality of the writing makes this worth going to see and the cast is buoyed up by some good cameos from the inspector (Tom Carter) and the Priest (Andy Solts), who conveys just the right amount of oily charm and sinister intent.
Until July 5
020 7485 9897

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment:

» A-Z of Theatre
» Local Reviews
» Local Listings
» West End Reviews
» West End Listings
» Theatre Tickets
» Theatre & Hotel Packages