Classic thriller set to be performed at Belgrade
MIDLANDS murder mystery fans can expect another gripping evening as The Classic Thriller Theatre Company return to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in June.
After last year’s adaptation of Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement in Stone left audiences waiting with baited breath for more, The Case of the Frightened Lady is set to follow its success 12-16 June.
Newly adapted for the stage by Antony Lampard this page-turning classic by “king of the detective thriller” Edgar Wallace sets its scene amidst the grandeur of Mark’s Priory, the ancestral home of the wealthy Lebanon family.
Called in to investigate a ruthless murder, Inspector Tanner soon learns that nothing is as it seems, uncovering a shocking and closely guarded secret as he moves towards the heart of the mystery.
One of the most popular and prolific crime writers of the 20th century, author Edgar Wallace boasts an extensive bibliography of over 150 detective novels, as well as having penned the script for the iconic film King Kong. His books are now widely regarded as having provided the bedrock for the modern thriller.
Bill Kenwright’s The Classic Thriller Theatre Company continues the phenomenal success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, which sold around two million tickets over a decade of first class productions. Drawing on Kenwright’s wealth of producing experience, the company now continues to expand its repertoire, revisiting works by novelists and playwrights from across the decades.
True to form, this latest instalment boasts a glittering cast of stage and screen stars, including Gray O’Brien as Inspector Tanner. Well known to TV audiences for his portrayal of the villainous businessman Tony Gordon in ITV’s Coronation Street and as Dr Richard McCaig in BBC medical drama Casualty, O’Brien has more recently appeared in the ITV crime drama The Loch, which aired earlier this year.
Catapulted to worldwide fame at the age of just 15, Oliver Phelps first made his name as Ron Weasley’s brother George in the Harry Potter series, one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time. Now he makes his professional stage debut as Tanner’s fellow officer Detective Sergeant Totti.