Crime thriller at New Wimbledon Theatre
The first ever stage production of best-selling crime thriller The Perfect Murder comes to New Wimbledon Theatre from October 27 to November 1.
The stage version of Peter James’ novel stars Robert Daws and Dawn Steele, and features the return of Gray O'Brien. It has been adapted by Shaun McKenna.
You can check Penny Flood's review of the show here.
The Perfect Murder, which spent 15 weeks at No.1 in the book charts, tells the story of Victor Smiley and his wife, who have been married for a long time.
Their marriage has reached crisis point and Victor has decided there is only one way to get Joan out of his life forever... but he's about to get a nasty surprise... As a young Detective Roy Grace starts to investigate his very first homicide case, dark forces intervene and Grace begins to fear that nothing is quite as it seems in this entertaining dark comedy thriller.
Olivier Award winner Ian Talbot directs an all-star company in the autumn re-casting of The Perfect Murder. Having donned his white coat for eight series of ITV’s 1960’s hospital drama The Royal, Robert Daws, best-known to millions as Dr Gordon Ormerod, will play Victor Smiley.
Robert's TV credits have also seen him appear on screen as Sam Mountjoy in Roger Roger, Tuppy Glossop in Jeeves and Wooster and Roger Dervish in the award-winning Outside Edge. His extensive theatre credits include The Secret of Sherlock Holmes and Public Property in the West End and UK tours of Michael Frayn's Alarms and Excursions and David Harrower’s Blackbird, the later of which also starred Dawn Steele.
Dawn Steele has starred in numerous hit TV series including the BBC's Monarch of the Glen, Sea of Souls and she played the hugely popular character of Alice Collins in ITV’s Wild at Heart. Other theatre credits include the lead role in The Agatha Christie Company's production of Verdict and Dawn also starred in Noel Coward’s previously undiscovered Volcano in both the West End and on tour.
They are joined by Gray O'Brien – who continues his highly acclaimed role as the loveable Don Kirk. Gray recently enjoyed an award-winning three years in Coronation Street and has also starred in the TV series Titanic, Peak Practice and Casualty as well as in the West End in Sleuth.
Novelist Peter James has won numerous awards both in the UK and in the USA. In 2012 Peter won the coveted US Barry Award for Best British Crime Thriller. Peter has gone straight in at no 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller charts seven times in the last four years with his Roy Grace series – with his most recent Roy Grace novel, Dead Man’s Time going straight to No.1 in the Autumn of 2013. His new novel, Want You Dead, is released this June.
He said about the first stage adaptation of his work: "Ever since I was a small boy when my parents first took me to the theatre, I dreamed of one day having something I wrote appear on stage and this wonderful, extremely funny - and in parts very scary - adaptation of The Perfect Murder is a dream come true.
"I am thrilled by the wonderful universal reaction the play has received from both fans of my books but also from those who have not read me before and once again I could not have hoped for a more perfect, murderously good cast, with which to continue this incredible run of The Perfect Murder on stage."
September 20, 2014