Strictly Murder

Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, May 26

For most of his career, Brian Capron was the kind of actor who was more of a household face than a household name; the kind of dependable character performer whose ubiquity gave him a diverse career, if not a single role to call his own. From his 1973 debut in Z-Cars onwards, audiences may have seen him play larger parts in Blake’s 7, Grange Hill, The Bill or the Gwyneth Paltrow-starring 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. Until, that is, he turned up in Coronation Street in 2001 as Gail Platt’s killer husband Richard Hillman.

“I often get asked to do thrillers because of my murderous background,” Capron jokes now, referring to the twoyear television role. “I hardly ever do them though, I’ve tried to reinvent myself since Richard – I’ve done Guys and Dolls and appeared at the National Theatre and all sorts of stuff – so it has to be pretty good to attract me but when I read this script I realised that’s exactly what it was.”

Strictly Murder is a play from 2006; a late-career stage piece written by Brian Clemens, who fans of classic genre television will undoubtedly recognise as the main driving force behind series including The Avengers and The Professionals. Although Clemens died in 2015 aged 83, his director son Sam took on the task of staging Strictly Murder and offered the lead to Capron. “I wasn’t absolutely sure until I read it,” says Capron. “Sam told me he was going to put a lot of production value into it – original music, more rehearsal time, a very good set and so on – and that’s absolutely what we got. We’ve really brought out all the detail.”

Capron laments the fact that even Agatha Christie would probably have lost her impact nowadays because all her endings would have been spoiled online and he’s determined to try to protect this play’s secrets. “It really keeps the audience on the edge of their seats,” he says of the play, which also stars Gary Turner, Corinne Wicks, Lara Lemon and Andrew Fettes.

Written as a tribute to the thriller genre and set in the south of France before the outbreak of the Second World War, the drama is packed with surprises, says Capron. “There’s a very brooding atmosphere; it focuses on a young couple living in this farmhouse, and let’s say all that is blown to pieces when my character arrives,” he adds.

Since Coronation Street, Capron has come into his own with a stint on Where The Heart Is and high-profile stage musical work in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Guys and Dolls, as well as a brief turn on Strictly Come Dancing. He doesn’t need to take roles for the fame or the money now, he explains gleefully – only the satisfaction of appearing in work which he believes is truly worth sharing with an audience.

Brian Capron and Corinne Wicks.