Witness For The Prosecution (London County Hall)

As someone who has a passion for law (partly studying at uni), this play stood out to me as being right up my street. Literally set in a court room (London County Hall, along the embankment), this seemed to be a match made in theatrical heaven for me. To add to that, it was an Agatha Christie masterpiece and so I was very much looking forward to this play and of course, an infamous didn't-see-it-coming plot twist. 

The set of this play was stunning, I couldn't stop taking pictures, from the marble pillar I was sat behind to (obviously) the stage. It was set out as an actual court room with the live audience being the jury, I thought it was a very clever way to engage the audience, although not necessary as I was sat on the edge of my seat until the very end. Twelve lucky people could buy VIP tickets and be the actual jury, voting on not guilty or guilty at the end of the piece. The VIP seats are slightly awkwardly lit up so the entire audience can see the 12 chosen ones. Maybe I could have got those seats and put it on my acting CV: “Juror 12 in Agatha Christie play”. I love an intimate setting, be it on film or on stage and although this was a courtroom setting, it was very intimate, which I thought worked very well.

The first scene portrays a man (Mr Vole) who is sentenced to death by hanging. The acting was great and the dramatical mise-en-scene tension music was put to use effectively. This play has definitely made it into my top three and as the prices for tickets was next to nothing, I may see it five more times. Ultimately, this play shows the death of the justice system in a sense through the defence lawyer and how we see his trust and faith in the British justice system fall to pieces right at the end.

As aforementioned, the best part of an Agatha Christie play is always the twist. And I won’t even hint as to the twist in this play. But I will say that the set, actors and direction is great. I chuckled to myself as I thought, the moral of this story is trust no bitch, although I don't think that is what the author's intentions may have been.. but still it was funny to think.

I highly recommend you go watch this play, book NOW! It's simply amazing.