Cast

Synopsis

Mr Heiss has a dark past and now holds a grudge. He allows his antiques shop to be used as a front for criminal activity. He doesn’t want his daughter or his sister to find out….. After years of steady business suddenly things become too difficult. His shop assistant is blackmailing him and he can’t continue. Everything becomes complicated, tense, and out of hand, with a twist in the final scene. A gripping tale.

Directors Notes

Tonight’s play was first performed in April 1945 at St Martin’s Theatre, London. It is a thriller written by Edward Percy, a Conservative MP of the time.

Interesting to note that after all this time St Martin’s Theatre is sticking with thrillers. In fact, in box office terms, St Martin’s is the ‘daddy of them all’, as it is home to the world’s longest running play “The Mousetrap” which is now in its thirty-fourth year there.

It’s odd to think of audiences turning up to the theatre to watch a thriller in war torn London. Amidst the impact of the blitz, the devastating loss of life, rationing, an uncertain future people still sought an evening’s escape from the grim reality of daily life. The play reflects many of the manners and beliefs of the period. Johnny foreigner cannot be trusted. Working class people drop their “h”’s like confetti. Smoking is the norm. and, many of you will be delighted to know, the play contravenes many of today’s PC taboos. So it can’t be all bad!

The play is about murder. The audience knows the victim, knows who “done it” and what is left is: will the murderer get away with it?