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Catch Me If You Can
21st March 2022 - 26th March 2022
The GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER by Robert Thomas
Adapted by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert
To what lengths is a person prepared to go?
US stars, Dallas legend Patrick Duffy (The Man from Atlantis; Step By Step) and Linda Purl (Happy Days; Homeland) fly in from Hollywood for this special production in which they will star alongside Gray O’ Brien (Peak Practice; Coronation Street).
Inspector Levine is called to a house in the remote Catskill mountains to investigate the disappearance of newly married Elizabeth Corban. In a bizarre development a woman arrives at the house claiming to be the missing Elizabeth but, instead of celebrating the reunion, her husband accuses her of being an imposter…
Adapted from French Writer Robert Thomas’ play Trap For a Lonely Man, this highly entertaining mystery has been the subject of three successful screenplays.
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Event Reviews
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The View From The Stalls
Be warned - this play has nothing to do with the film of the same name which came out in 2002 and starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
This play is, in fact, based on a book by French writer Robert Thomas entitled Trap for a Lonely Man, renamed for this stage version, and comes with two American and two British stars, Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl from the States and Gray O'Brien and Ben Nealon from the UK. It must be a bit of a coup to get Bobby Ewing/The Man from Atlantis involved in the play as well as established actress Linda Purl and then adding the familiar faces of O'Brien (a regular in Malvern and one-time Villain of The Year thanks to Coronation Street) and Nealon, still remembered from his role in Soldier Soldier.
The French Alps setting of the book has been replaced by Catskills but the story remains basically the same. Advertising Executive Daniel Corban (Duffy) is on his honeymoon with his wife (Purl) but she appears to have gone missing a few days ago. Then she returns, or at least someone claiming to be her returns, and it is not long before the local police inspector (O'Brien) and priest (Nealon) become involved in trying to find the truth. Corban, however, is the only person to think this woman is an imposter and is convinced that they are all out to get him to allow his wife to claim on his life insurance, in doing so effectively gaslighting him to make him out to be mentally unstable. But just who is fooling who?
Staged on a single set which is the lounge of the chalet rented from Corban's boss (who also makes an unexpected appearance along with his wife and Sidney, the owner of the local sandwich shop, played by Paul Lavers, Chloe Zeitounian and Hugh Futcher respectively), the script has a number of comic moments throughout, particularly from Duffy whose character is perpetually bemused and frustrated by all the goings on - he even falls foul of a good thumping (gently done as he is 73 after all!).
As with other dramas of this type, the moments of humour and levity add to rather than detract from the action - after all, murder (if it is indeed murder) is a serious business and by the final denouement, it becomes clear just who has been fooling who. By this point, you may well have guessed the outcome yourself but no matter, this is still an enjoyable romp through a police procedural with an ensemble cast who are more than welcome to grace the Malvern stage.
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Sheridan
Disappointing.constant silly mistakes ie.dialling on phone with receiver on.very amateurish.
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Lindsay
I would just like to say a very special thank you to the young lady on your booking desk
She expertly guided this old technophobe to enable me to book my tickets .
She was so patient and kind
Please give her a special mention from
With love and gratitude Lindsay xxxxx -
June Henderson
Saw this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done to all the cast for coping with the speed of the dialogue and making the characters real. Patrick Duffy was very believable as he became more and more troubled. Some great comedy lines too. Great to be back watching live theatre again.
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Valerie
I really enjoyed it . I thought the acting was excellent , very convincing. It had everything drama , murder comedy ,great twist at the end , well done.
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Patricia
Came to the Saturday Matinee and throughly enjoyed the show, great acting , amusing lines in a brilliant script which had a unforeseeable twist right at the end . Good set and lightening helped make this play one that you shouldn’t miss . Thanks to all the actors and everyone that made it one to remember .
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Laura
Brilliant. Patrick Duffy the star of the show. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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Kath
Although I enjoyed last night’s performance, it was spoiled for me because I could barely hear Patrick Duffy’s delivery and so missed many significant moments. Perhaps the actor who played Sid could offer him advice on voice projection. Sid’s delivery was crystal clear, at the correct volume and timed perfectly. Congratulations Hugh Futcher. You stole the show!
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Stephen
Up with some of the best plays seen at Malvern good story great performances by all the cast well worth seeing I guess I must have seen a few hundred here over the years you can't beat live theatre lucky to have it on our doorstep
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Matt
Absolutely brilliant play - very engaging - kept me guessing till the end with some laugh-out-loud moments. Clever acting from all the cast especially the legendary Mr Duffy! One of the best plays I’ve been lucky to see at Malvern. So glad I caught it!
