‘Dial M For Murder’ Does Much More Than Simply Echo Hitchcock

A thrilling modern update of a play made famous by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film adaptation of the same name, the Australian premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher’s take on Dial M for Murder at the Ensemble Theatre is a thrilling inverse of the whodunit. With a small, focused cast that delivers the sharply written 50s-era dialogue with real panache, this fresh staging of the material makes for a delightfully tense night of theatre.

After catching his wife Margot (Anna Samson) having an affair with crime author Maxine Hadley (Madeleine Jones), publishing agent Tony Wendice (Garth Holcombe) begins plotting what he believes is the perfect murder to access her life insurance without implicating himself.

By hiring his old acquaintance Captain Lesgate (David Soncin) to strangle Margot in a painfully detailed fashion, he plans to duck suspicion and enjoy the rest of his life in comfortable wealth. Alas, there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect murder’ – after a mishap on the night, Tony works overtime to avoid becoming a suspect, even as the nosy Inspector Hubbard (Kenneth Moraleda) comes close to figuring it all out.

A tightly constructed reverse whodunit

While a traditional whodunit would be told from the perspective of Margot or Inspector Hubbard, Dial M for Murder makes the fascinating choice to tell a majority of its tale from the murderer’s point of view. This isn’t a choice unique to this production by any means, but Tony is made such a wonderfully hateable character in the hands of Garth Holcombe.

This version of Tony feels tangibly different from the version rendered by Hitchcock and Ray Milland in the 1954 film, with Holcombe making him feel even more manipulative. Part of this is thanks to Jeffrey Hatcher’s updates to the material, including the queer relationship and other minor changes in the second act.

These changes are welcome in reflecting the play’s thematic shift to exploring the patriarchal control that men held over women through marriage in the mid-20th century, accentuated by the beautiful yet somewhat claustrophobic set for the play that makes the room it takes place in oft feels oppressive, equally thanks to the work of director Mark Kilmurry and set/costume designer Nick Fry.

Garth Holcombe works in tandem with these elements to ensure that Tony adds to this suffocating feeling. Despite his character being a deeply unlikeable one, Holcombe imbues him with the usual charm of a Hitchcock protagonist while burying something much darker within him. He’s ultimately a scheming opportunist with remarkable improv abilities, and Holcombe is wonderful at keeping the tension throughout the show by portraying Tony as a man who wears whatever mask suits the moment.

A thoughtful update to Dial M for Murder 

The role of Margot is also greatly expanded here, and Anna Samson is more than fit for the task. Where Grace Kelly’s version of the character was compelling but ultimately lacked agency, Margot feels far more in control of her story here in ways I won’t spoil. Hatcher’s update not only gives her more agency in the extramarital affair, but in the unwinding conspiracy she finds herself caught in.

The aforementioned Maxine Hadley is played with a perfect serving of 50s New York wit by a sharply dressed Madeleine Jones, whose relationship with Margot hangs over the whole play. In comparison to the film version, this relationship feels genuinely yearnful throughout this adaptation of the show, especially thanks to the chemistry that Jones and Samson share whenever they’re on stage.

So too do David Soncin and Kenneth Moraleda dutifully undertake their roles as Lesgate and Inspector Hubbard respectively. Even in his brief appearance, Soncin really sells the desperation of his ultimately despicable character, while Moraleda is a sheer delight as the spiffy Hubbard. Though initially introduced as another kind of antagonist, his investigative prowess is revealed soon enough as the show goes on.

And what a fun Dial M for Murder is, a twisty crime thriller that makes the Ensemble Theatre air almost overbearingly thick with tension. Even if you’ve seen a version of this show or the film before, its new thematic framework and excellent performances make it well worth the trip to the theatre.