Review: Night Must Fall - Sheringham Little Theatre

It's a strange thing to watch a piece that you've performed in previously. It was 10 years ago that I was in a production of Night Must Fall, so watching it now, my overriding feeling was 'I don't remember that'. An inevitability given the passing of time.

Another inevitability is that I'm bound to draw comparisons. And I'm pleased to say that even compared with my probable rose-tinted view of a production I was particularly proud of at the time, the Sheringham summer rep cast did a sterling job of bringing this psychological drama to life.

The story itself centres around the household of Mrs Bramson, a waspish, wealthy, and apparently ailing widow. She's surrounded by domestic staff and her niece, Olivia, who do everything for her. When Mrs Bramson learns that her young maid has gotten pregnant by Dan, a bell-boy at the local hotel, she invites him round to have a stern word. However, rather than being sent packing, Dan charms his way to becoming a personal assistant to Mrs Bramson - but we soon discover that the charm is a facade, and a sinister side emerges as the investigation of a missing local woman unfolds around them.

For a bit more context of my view of the show, I played Welshman Dan all those years ago. Hailing from Swansea, Jonathan Houlston in the Sheringham cast was already one nil up on my portrayal before he started. And he thoroughly trounced me in the charisma stakes too, injecting the character with so much charm that he almost won me over, despite knowing how the action plays out.

It was brilliant to watch Houlston hint at a more brooding edge to his jovial character, and then descend full scale into unhinged psychosis, as the inspector pieces the mystery together and the walls slowly close in on Dan.

Elsewhere, Susanna Harding was superb as the thoroughly difficult but rather tragic Mrs Bramson. It's easy to dismiss the character as a hard-nosed, irredeemable figure, but Harding gave us a glimpse of the woman she was before her life with an 'unkind' husband. The relationship between her character and Dan was also delightful to watch develop.

Less clear was the relationship between the characters of Dan and Olivia (Anu Akinseye). And Akinseye's convincingly conflicted performance muddied the waters nicely. Was Olivia simply suspicious of Dan, or was there an underlying attraction, or perhaps it was jealousy. Whatever her character's feelings, it was fun to be kept guessing.

Dan (Jonathan Houlston) turns on the charm for Mrs Bramson (Susanna Harding) - photo credit: Andi Sapey

There's a number of impactful supporting roles in the play, with characters such as the gossipy cook Mrs Terence (Rachael Cummins) or the well-meaning dullard Hubert (Jonathan Iceton) serving to ease the tension every so often with a sharp, comedic observation, intentional or otherwise. As the sweet and naive maid, Dora, who inadvertently introduces Dan to the household, Attia Law was also an innocent delight.

Although the piece is a mystery of sorts, it's the psychological aspect that Director Katie Thompson appears to have seized upon. She pushes the narrative of Dan as a deeply troubled character, and the inclusion of twitching, atmospheric lighting flourishes and chilling mood music to capture Dan's state of mind worked well. It was interesting also to see Thompson's adjustment to the ending, to put the power back in the hands of Olivia rather than be beholden to the will of Dan.

Overall, it's more of a slow-burn, intrigue story than an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but there's plenty of commendable elements in Night Must Fall to keep you hooked. It continues at Sheringham Little Theatre until 27 August.