A well written, well acted character-driven legal drama, full of twists and surprising revelations.Rating
Excellent
Presented as part of the brand new Yorkshire Fringe Theatre Festival, this is the world premiere of Conflict of Interest, a legal drama written by Thomas Carruthers. It’s truly Carruthers’ baby: not only has he founded Righton Productions, he also wrote, produced and performs in the piece. He says he has a deep interest in plot twists and legal dramas which has resulted in his penning this play.
The play is set entirely in the office of legal firm Hargrieve-Carmichael in Philadelphia in 1982. A client accused of murdering her husband resonates with a previous case, where Carmichael achieved an acquittal. He subsequently married his client. The new case is the catalyst for simmering resentments, secrets and lies to provide plot twists and revelations.
It’s tricky to say much more without spoilers, so suffice it to say that the plot does provide several genuinely surprising moments that drew gasps from the audience. The writing is mature and detailed. Each of the five characters are very well drawn through believable dialogue. They may even be more detailed than is needed to support the plot and a trimming of some of the dialogue could result in a tighter, shorter play. The final outcome seems to be a little protracted, every time it seems the play has ended, there is another scene.
The acting is excellent. The five actors each convince with natural sounding and consistent American accents. Rhian Holmes’ southern accent is especially impressive and her characterisation is spot on. She has strong stage presence as Rita Lempkin, the breezy accused murderess and her scenes are witty and compelling. Amy Cash performs well as law student Talia, portraying all the frustrations of feeling overlooked by her bosses. William Leggetter, as law partner Mitch Hargrieve, captures the bitter resentment of his partner, Carmichael, perfectly. There are several uncomfortable scenes between them where it is clear they have an uneasy history and a strain that cannot continue without an explosive climax.
All of the characters are flawed and none more than charismatic Art Carmichael. He is played to perfection by Carruthers. He has an easy charm and confidence in the role which translates well to Carmichael’s natural authority. Every other character looks to him for validation at some point. His wife, Lucy is played very well by Maeve-Anne Allen. She is well aware of her husband’s flaws and chooses to overlook them as she has secrets of her own.
This is a well rounded piece with a clear circular theme of evidence and doubt. It starts and ends with similar courtroom scenes. In between, the five characters present their evidence before the audience who act as the jury to decide innocence and guilt. It certainly provoked plenty of audience discussion at last night’s interval. The tiny Lantern Theatre is a fitting setting for this tense, almost claustrophobic piece, but this clever play deserves a much bigger audience.
Written by Thomas Carruthers
Produced by Thomas Carruthers and Jazz Sewsanker
Directed by Jazz Sewsanker
Lighting and Sound by Dylan Phelps
Sound designed by Thomas Carruthers
Music composed by Kallie Batchelor
Conflict of Interest has completed its run as part of Yorkshire Fringe Theatre Festival. It will play at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, London from Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 October.
