The reviews are in for The Other Side of Murder, the comic thriller by Torben Betts that completes the trilogy he began with Murder in the Dark and Murder at Midnight. Original Theatre and Theatr Clwyd are touring it through the winter, and its stop at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, the tour's London date, closes tonight. Rufus Hound plays Peter, a television medium whose comeback is threatened by a pregnant mistress, an estranged daughter and a mother-in-law who may genuinely speak to the dead. The critics are warm about the twist and about Susie Blake's Miriam, and the four who give a rating all award four stars; the only real dissent is that the farce can feel old-fashioned in places.
4.0 / 5 from 4 criticsThe verdict: seven reviews so far. Four carry a star rating, and all four give it four stars, an average of 4.0 out of 5; The Reviews Hub, TheatreVibe and LouReviews publish no rating. Nearly every critic singles out Susie Blake as the Gilbert and Sullivan-loving Miriam, and most of them the closing twist. The coolest voice is Susan Elkin at The Reviews Hub, who enjoyed it but found the farce dated and a little laboured.
What are critics saying about The Other Side of Murder?
Theatre Weekly
"The writing is quick-witted with some great one-liners"
Reviewer: Alice Grahame
Grahame finds the play more funny than frightening, and says it stands on its own for anyone who missed the first two instalments. She praises Blake's Miriam and Carla Mendonça's Susannah, who grows steadily more calculating.
"Rufus Hound makes a convincing Peter, a clueless curmudgeon sporting a giant handlebar moustache."
She also enjoyed the way the set changes character as the illusions take hold.
Everything Theatre
Reviewer: Dean Wood
Wood likes Colin Falconer's neat suburban kitchen, built to be wrecked, and compares the tone to cosy Sunday-afternoon television played at a faster lick.
"Leading man Hound holds things together with comedic pathos, and Susie Blake steals moments with her endearing silliness as Miriam."
He gives director Philip Franks credit for keeping the twist on the right side of ridiculous, and would happily see the trilogy become a quartet.
Plays To See
Reviewer: Jad Adams
Adams describes Hound's Peter as all television-star insincerity and calls Blake a delight. He notes that the action runs in real time in a single room, with the hero never offstage.
"This may be a frothy modern comedy but it works because Betts has learned the lessons of classic drama."
In his view the first half is merely good and the second is where it takes off.
Fairy Powered Productions
Reviewer: Phil Brown
Brown thinks Betts deserves to be a bigger name and puts him in Alan Ayckbourn's company for dark domestic comedy. He finds the ensemble playing superbly timed, with Hound, Mendonça and Blake the standouts.
"It aims squarely for the right side of the brain and scores a resounding hit."
He also enjoyed the late twists, which turn the farce into something closer to a morality tale.
The Reviews Hub
Reviewer: Susan Elkin
Elkin finds it pretty funny and says the three leads deliver, but she hears Whitehall farce, Blithe Spirit and Arsenic and Old Lace in it and finds it old-fashioned as a result. She names Blake the real star of the evening.
"It’s certainly an entertaining show, if a little laboured at times."
She also admires Falconer's design, which hides space for John Bulleid's illusions behind the kitchen counter.
TheatreVibe
"Murder and Mayhem with Intervention from the Spirits"
Reviewer: Lizzie Loveridge
Loveridge, who had seen Hound in The Mesmerist, enjoys him most as Peter scrambles to cover his tracks, and reports spooky effects that made the audience jump.
"The denouement is amazingly unexpected and I’m sure you won’t guess it as it is also splendidly original."
LouReviews
Reviewer: Claire Hogan
Hogan calls it a fast-paced farce that keeps twisting, and credits Betts with four strong female roles in the wife, mistress, daughter and mother-in-law.
"But it is Blake as Miriam, Peter’s eccentric mother-in-law, that stole the show for me."
She recommends it to anyone willing to suspend disbelief and simply go along for the ride.
For more from beyond the West End, see our roundups of The Sea at Theatre Royal Bath and Middlemarch Parts 1 & 2 at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Other Side of Murder is at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, until 7 November, then tours to the Palace Theatre, Southend (9-14 November) and Mayflower Studios, Southampton (16-21 November), with further dates from January to March 2027 in High Wycombe, Derby, Malvern, Northampton, Darlington, Leeds, Salisbury and Coventry.
For more information, visit the official website.
