Review: Francis Durbridge’s Fatal Encounter at Theatre Royal, Nottingham, for the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season

There’s twists galore in Tabs Productions’ staging of Fatal Encounter.

Francis Durbridge’s thriller is on stage at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal until Saturday, August 17, as the second show in the four strong line-up for the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season.

The show constantly toes the line between truth and lies, and the more that’s uncovered the more convoluted it gets.

An MP, a divorcee, an art dealer and a waiter-turned-handyman all connected with the action but never in the ways you expect.

John Goodrum stars as Howard Mansfield, who quite accidentally finds himself in the middle of the rather unfortunate and complicated criminal plot.

He is thoroughly entertaining, with just the right amount of unreliability in his actions that keeps you guessing his allegiances right to the end.

Hannah Blaikie is also commendable as Howard’s wife Joanna Mansfield, delivering a convincing dose of shock and horror as her secrets begin to unfurl, while Pav Maru oozes gangsterish charm as Perry Kingsley.

In contrast to the previous show of the season, the hilarious parody Murdered to Death, we’re blessed with a competent copper in Inspector Coldwell (Sarah Wynne Kordas) who is at least three steps ahead of everyone else the whole time.

There’s also some brilliant moments of humour which are delivered just at the right times.

The Mansfields’ house is busier than the M25 at rush hour, the phone won’t stop ringing, the doorbell goes off — and just as it all comes to a climax a rather tall police constable enters via a door which is just a tad too short.

The superb cast also includes Kia Pope as Grace Kingsley, Jeremy Lloyd Thomas as Mark Adler, David Osmond as Rex Winter, and Susan Earnshaw as Hilary Van Zale.