Witness for the Prosecution

My day job gets in the way a lot at the moment, so I don't get to see as much theatre as I'd like to - it's a long time since I was up at Darlington. I got to see their production of Witness for the Prosecution last night, and had a fantastic evening. The play is a fairly long and static one - courtroom dramas don't give much of an opportunity for movement - but I was thoroughly engaged all the way through. Kudos to the cast and crew. I had been warned when I booked my ticket that the theatre is very cold in winter and that I should rug up. It wasn't that bad, and the complimentary crocheted blanket on my seat made sure that I was snug as a bug in a rug. Very quaint, but very, very comfortable! Some of the performances were better than others, but there were a couple that really stood out. I didn't take a program with me, so don't know names, but I'd like to particularly congratulate all of the leads on strong performances. The lawyers in particular gave very naturalistic performances, and really managed to draw me into the drama of the courtroom. Thanks for taking me on this journey guys! Some of the minor characters were less polished, but others sparkled. Janet, the Scottish maid, I'm looking at you... It's ages since I saw a 3 Act play actually performed in three acts. The main intermission was held after the very short first act, and there was another short intermission half way through the very long second half, breaking up Acts 2 and 3. I understand that this is probably how the script is written, and that it enabled set changes from lawyers office to courtroom to occur, but I wonder if it would have been a better choice to break the play differently. There was a long scene change (behind curtains) in the middle of Act 3, so it's not as if the intermissions always occurred at a set change point. With only two sets required over such a large stage area, I'm not sure why there was any need to incorporate any major set changes. It would have been just as effective to have the court room set up in the background, and wheel a couple of simple pieces of furniture to the front of the set for the lawyers office scenes. This may have made changing the position of intervals a little easier, but I suppose it comes down to the vision and choices of the director. My partner mentioned that he was a little distracted by the lighting in the first Act. I noticed that the action had moved perilously close to the edge of the light on a few occasions (most notably when the policemen arrived). I don't think this was a problem with the lights themselves, as the area provided was huge in relation to the amount of movement that occurred. It might just be something for the actors to be aware of. My final comment was in relation to the costumes. They were fantastic! A really really good job. My final final comment is about the closing line. The delivery was absolutely perfect, and a high note on which to finish things up. Thanks Darlington!!!