Like most unplanned things in life, I stumbled into directing thrillers for the stage. My background is in performing, writing, directing comedy and what draws me to thrillers is, well, a mystery. Perhaps it’s because I am in awe of the writer who – like James Cawood in Stone Cold Murder – can construct a tense, atmospheric story with just three or four people in a room. It requires a very particular sort of creative imagination, perhaps akin to the skill of creating a giant crossword puzzle. All the pieces have to fit together so well. If any of the characters do – or say – anything which is not credible or stretches the audience’s ‘suspension of disbelief’ just that fraction too far, the whole edifice collapses.

But what is particularly remarkable about Stone Cold Murder is that it’s James’s first play and it’s so well constructed. We meet our loving couple, Olivia and Robert, in their rural retreat, a small country hotel in the Lake District. A stranger, Ramsay, arrives in their midst and a story unfolds that …. Well, it would spoil it to reveal anymore but suffice to say that the twists and turns of the plot will keep you guessing right up until the final moments. When I first read the play I gasped out loud on several occasions at the unexpected turn of events!

So my job as the director is to keep the atmosphere tense and dramatic throughout the play. Music and sound effects help of course – when used sparingly! When we watch films in the cinema we may not always be aware of how much music is being played but it’s an integral part of the experience. On stage, perhaps especially in thrillers, music and sound effects can play an equally integral part and help to lift an audience out of their seats – perhaps literally! 

I’m certain you’ll enjoy James’s tense and dramatic thriller and may he continue to write many more for the Vienna English Theatre.

Andy de la Tour