As a first-time viewer of a Langham Court Theatre production, I was intrigued to see what was in store for me when I went to see Murder Weekend last night. The play stays shrouded in mystery and its twists and turns will keep any viewer on their toes.
Murder Weekend is set in the 1980s and tells the tale of a newly married couple, allowing their countryside hotel to be used for a game of “guess the murderer.” Five guests descend on the hotel to re-enact a murder that took place 20 years prior. But is it just a game?
It’s almost impossible to describe the plot without giving some massive spoilers, but I’ll say this: you will not be able to guess who did it. With only seven characters in the entire play, I was, at first, doubtful that they would be able to keep my attention, but from the get-go I was drawn into the mystery.
From the beginning of the first act you will find yourself acting as a surrogate investigator, trying to discern clues and find out what comes next (I sure was). The play’s plot thickens as it continues and while I was highly invested, I also had, at times, a hard time with the dialogue, as it was not always natural. Alternatively, I was instantly taken by the set design and overall quality of the play as a whole—the costuming was perfection and the characters were well developed. The actors did a splendid job of placing conflict and dissent and making you guess and accuse until the very end.
Even though the set didn’t change, and what you see throughout the play is only one room, the plot is interesting enough to only need the one room to make you guess what happens outside of it. Me and my companion were both in love with the set design, going so far as to say we would steal the couch they had front and centre. As a bit of a theatre nerd myself, I tend to be quite picky about certain things, and while the overall play had my constant attention, it was not only the dialogue that threw me a little bit, but also the British accents that I heard slip a few times—although it really just made me chuckle.
The play’s director, Wendy Gail, urges the audience to find the clues and try to solve the case as the scenes go by, and guess we did. At intermission I found myself asking aloud to my seat neighbours what their thoughts were, and having a full-fledged discussion on where we thought the plot was going. I’m happy to say that I was not able to fully guess the outcome and was not only surprised by the reveal but also well and truly shocked by the play’s conclusion.
Overall, I’d recommend this play to anyone who enjoys being kept on their toes, or just likes a good, comedic murder mystery. Murder Weekend should be on the radar of anyone who enjoys theatre; it has my praises.
Murder Weekend
Various times, until Sunday, March 10
Various prices, Langham Court Theatre
langhamtheatre.ca