REVIEW - Bristol Evening Post Tuesday April 26th 1972 - WITNESS DRAMA IS SUCCESS

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An able and impressively tense presenatation of Agatha Christie's Witness For The Prosecution by the Weston-super-Mare dramatic society, deserves to enthrall all court-room drama fans at Weston's Playhouse Theatre this week.

This is Agatha at her more wordy best and, being wordy rather than active, the play offers plenty of pitfalls for the unwary amateur.

But producer David Hemming has wary principals.

Gregory Thacker chats disarmingly as Leonard Vole, murder suspect No. 1. Subject was sweet, old and wealthy Miss French, bashed on the head after leaving all her wealth to him.

        Perfect

Paul Dening, veteran of the Weston amateur stage looms self-assured as the legally-regal Sir Wilfred Roberts, and Barbara Smith provides the perfect foil for his courtroom manner in her first major role, that of Miss Myers, also a QC.

But complete mistress of the subtle art of speech nuance and facial provocation is June Tanner, whose debut in a leading dramatic role as the enigmatic East German Romaine brings an added spice and variety to lines which demand much meaning.

The legal cut and thrust, the deft switching of suspicion and the cunning concealment of the final pay-off continue all this week.                                                                                                                                                                                               E.H.

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REVIEW - Western Daily Press Wednesday April 27th 1972 - AGATHA'S KILLER THRILLER

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"Witness for the Prosecution", by Agatha Christie; Weston-super-Mare Dramatic Society; Playhouse Theatre.

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An alternative title could be "Who Bashed Miss French?" but like all Agatha Christie's killer puzzles, this piece bears a hall-mark of professionalism which defies crudity.

It appears that one Leonard Vole, played with disarming innocence by Gregory Thacker, did the actual coshing of the sweet, vulnerable and very wealthy old lady.

Yet so eminent a Q.C. as Sir Wilfred Robarts played with self-assured legal dignity by Paul Dening, is completely sucked into believing that Leonard Vole is innocent, despite opportunity and motive being so glaringly not on his side, so to speak.

That is until the emergence of the enigmatic Mrs. Vole - who isn't really Mrs. Vole, but an East German adventuress who has a husband tucked away behind the Iron Curtain.

Mrs. Vole, or Romaine, is played with skilful accent and a compelling command of the spoken word by June Tanner in her first major role for the society.

No less impressive is Barbara Smith, also playing her first leading role as Miss Myers, Q.C. - the foil in the courtroom sequences for the wily Sir Wilfrid.

Ray Edbrooke brings a refreshingly unbanity to the plain clothes detective and Tony Hayman a legal profundity to the judge.

Producer David Hemming has gathered together a cast of principals well able to thread their way deftly through the web of words, and the courtroom will continue to be fought all this week.                                                             ERIC HOPKINSON