Dial M for Murder review | Theatre Works

Brought to stage in 1952 and immortalised two years later in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, Dial M for Murder has long been a favourite for lovers of tightly wound thrillers. This latest production by Smoke and Mirrors Productions keeps the bones of the original intact while slipping in a few contemporary surprises to give the story a new edge. The result is a sharp, stylish take on a familiar tale that knows how to keep an audience intrigued.

The first act plays out in a fairly straightforward fashion, leading to the inevitable attack and its immediate aftermath. Then the show changes lanes entirely. The second act throws us into the 1980s, with the set and props transformed: rotary dial phones become corded, a red gown gives way to shoulder pads, and additional small touches signal a leap forward in time. The third act brings us to 2025, including sneakers being worn, iPhones being used, and other modern details that pull the narrative firmly into the present.

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story - Midsumma Festival review

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two young, highly intelligent men from wealthy families about to embark on a career towards law who were also lovers. However, the two men began to see themselves as far more intelligent than those around them, and to prove this, began to commit crimes, such as theft, arson and the eventual murder of a local boy in 1924, leading them to be nicknamed, "The Thrill Killers".

Presented as part of Midsumma Festival, Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story, with book, lyrics and music by award-winning writer/composer, Stephen Dolginoff, is a musical theatre show that examines the relationship between these two men and the lengths they went to, to get what they wanted. The story is effectively told in flashback with Nathan facing a parole hearing, having already served 33 years in prison. He recalls his infatuation with Richard, the lead up to the murder of Bobby Franks and their subsequent capture and arrest. Despite the outcomes of these real-life events being known already, the two actors manage to keep the audience engaged with the narrative and their relationship.

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story - Midsumma Festival preview

When someone hears "musical theatre", they think fun times and happiness - usually. Throw in the word "gay", and you assume you are going to be in a world of high camp fun. But not with one offering at this year's Midsumma Festival. In Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story is a dark and deadly musical that retraces the exploits of the notorious 1920’s Chicago ‘thrill killers’.

"It's a fast moving, very atmospheric contemporary musical," explains its director, Terence O'Connell. "The songs are incorporated into the show in a really unusual way, there are no applause spaces so the story keeps rocketing along," he says. "And it has two really hot performances from Vincent Hooper & Stephen Madsen and Daniele Buatti’s driven piano playing, melded with a great production design."

Nathan Leopold (Hooper) and Richard Loeb (Madsen) as well as being wealthy young law students, were lovers and killers. The two kidnapped and murdered a 14 year-old boy in their efforts to prove their intelligence and get away with the perfect crime. It is their relationship and their actions that inspired Alfred Hitchcoks's acclaimed film Rope. "Their story is iconic in popular culture and their rather twisted relationship and the crime it produced has inspired plays, films, books, documentaries and now this musical," says O'Connell. "The show is a sequin and mirror ball free zone (ha!) and we're hoping that it will be the thinking man and woman's musical for Midsumma!"

Hitchcocks's Birds review

Alfred Hitchcock was a genius when it came to creating cinematic experiences. Very few directors, if any, have been able to recreate the tension and anxiety that Hitchcock managed to conjure up in scenes such as Janet Leigh's shower death in Psycho and Grace Kelly's attack in Dial M for Murder. However, behind the scenes, things weren't always so "great" for his leading ladies. In Hitchcock's Birds, Laura Johnston explores what it really meant to be a woman in one of Hitchcock's movies. 

Johnston portrays a number of these Hollywood legends, including Leigh, Kelly, Doris Day and Tippi Hedren and while many of the stories are not exactly new to anyone who has an interest in the man behind the camera or the women in front of it, the way Johnston tells these stories is what draws you in. Johnston uses verbatim interviews and speeches from these stars, which builds on the authenticity of Hitchcock's Birds. This is also supported by her portrayals of the eight actors, where with some simple but highly effective mannerisms and expressions she captures the elegance of Kelly, the liveliness of Day, the frustrations of Hedren and so on and so on.