Review: THE SUSPICIONS OF MR WHICHER, The Watermill Theatre

The ever enchanting Watermill Theatre in Newbury could hardly have hoped for more atmospheric weather to mark the opening night of their latest show, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. The distant thunderclaps and bucketing rain seemed perfectly placed to instill a disquieting mood as the audience arrived for an evening of Victorian true crime.

True enough, the play is an adaptation of Kate Summerscale's 2008 novel which itself documented a real 19th century case, one so terrible it inspired a generation of great crime writers. When a young child is found murdered in the Kent family's elegant country home, it is devastating enough, but what makes the crime truly shocking is the realisation that it must have been committed by a member of the household. With a small company, a mostly static set and purposeful direction from Kate Budgen, the unfathomable is brought chillingly to life.

Amy Jane Cook has transformed the Watermill's auditorium into Fulham prison, the bleak setting within which the morbid past is conjured up for closer inspection. In cahoots with sharply shifting lighting courtesy of Katy Morrison and stunning projections from Rachel Sampley that subtitles the proceedings in cursive handwriting, a stylish and evocative design has been crafted.

In adapting this for the stage, Alexandra Wood has done well to derive two compelling acts from a generally twistless plot that scarcely packs one sizeable revelation. Rather than presenting us with a slew of potential killer candidates, the production works to gradually furnish an insight into the guilty party's murderous motive via a series of flashbacks. Dissatisfied with the results of his original investigation, Jack Whicher is determined to glean more truth from the convicted Constance, who is appealing for release from the life sentence she is serving for the murder of her young brother. The conversation between the two is both a device through which the story's substantial events can be recalled but also a means by which both individuals can reveal more of themselves. In this sense, it more closely resembles an in-depth character study than a traditional murder mystery.

Christopher Naylor's Mr Whicher is a little less purposeful than you might expect, more a man undone by his uncertainty. The real-life sleuth who became the inspiration for multiple fictional detectives including Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse ought to have greater authority, but here he is desperately grappling with an evasive prisoner who seems to elude his interrogation at every step. Both Naylor and the titular Mr Whicher are largely overshadowed by Eleanor Wyld as Constance. Her determinedly stoic characterisation palpitates with unspoken pain as she reluctantly navigates the darker chapters of her past. Wyld's haunting performance is a huge part of what makes the play compelling as she shifts between her traumatic adolescence and her carefully calculated adult testimony.

Amongst the supporting cast, Connie Walker and Jim Creighton offer shades of grief, guilt and condemnation across a handful of roles and there is further strong, if underutilised, support, from Robyn Sinclair and Sam Liu.

Though it is not as strikingly staged or action-packed as many of the genre's theatrical mainstays, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher offers what the Watermill almost uniquely provides: an utterly transporting piece of storytelling that will keep you gripped as it carefully carries you towards its conclusion.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher runs at the Watermill Theatre until 10th June.
Photo Credit: Pamela Raith Photography

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