PRESCRIPTION FOR MURDER by Norman Robbins Directed by Mark Storton Burnley Garrick Theatre Group Prescription for Murder. Perhaps a prescription for entertainment? A tonic for grim times? A tremendous evening’s entertainment! A play I had never heard of: a play that kept the audience hooked from start to finish. You could tell the audience was involved as when the play delivered one of its many twists there were audible ‘Oooooohhhhs’ rippling round the auditorium, cracking stuff. Mark Storton and company deserved all the applause and cheers and the end of the performance. I was greeted by the attentive Garrick staff and entered the auditorium to a brilliantly realised front room of a country house in a sleepy Devon village. Just from the living room set alone, I knew exactly what sort of house it was, exactly the sort of people who live in the house, and exactly the sort of village it was. As a regular theatregoer you get used to front room sets but I genuinely don’t think I’ve seen one as effective as this before. The space was so efficiently used and the attention to detail was wonderful. I stopped seeing the black drapes and just saw the front room of a wealthy, pernickety village Doctor. The lighting, whilst subtle, was very effective at shifting from midday to evening. Sound cues were also spot on, and there was no hint of first night nerves. We begin with Holly Boland, as Barbara Forth, and Angela Foulds, as Dorothy Livingstone. Holly had a lot of dramatic heavy lifting during the course of the play. She was phenomenal in a demanding role, rarely offstage, and totally in control of her dialogue and her character: a completely committed performance, never faltering with the play’s ups and downs. I’m beginning to think Angela Foulds can do anything. I’ve seen Angela in musicals, light comedy, and farce. She was pitch perfect from her
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