Description:

Verdict, written in 1958, by Agatha Christie is a departure from the typical “who done it” mystery synonymous with the author. For a start, there is no clever detective. We also know the identity of the victim, the motive and the perpetrator from the moment the crime is carried out. Instead Verdict, sees Christie concern herself with the psychology of relationships between men and women.

Verdict, set in 1938, tells the story of Karl Hendryk, a German professor who, along with his wife and her cousin, has escaped Nazi persecution and settled in England, after having been caught providing shelter for Jewish friends back home in Germany. The professor lectures at a university and his wife, Anya, is an invalid and is confined to a wheelchair. Anya blames her husband for being forced to leave her homeland, her condition has left her depressed and she feels as if she is a burden on her husband, she has not settled in England and has no friends. Her cousin, Lisa Koletzky, has emigrated with them to help care for Anya.

The play focuses on the professor's libertarian attitude to people who wrong him, his need to look beyond the action at the reasons why and the consequences to the wrong doer if their behaviour was punished. His attitudes are explored in the opening scene of the play when one of his students, Lester Cole, confesses to having sold one of the professor’s books in order to have money to spend on his girlfriend, and again, later in the play when he refuses to inform the police that another of his students, Helen Rollander, a spoilt, rich student has confessed to the murder of his wife, an act that has particular consequences for Lisa and the Professor. Verdict examines the effects that intellectual reasoning and ideas can have on people. ''People matter as much as ideas,'' Lisa tells the professor at one point, and it’s this argument that is examined throughout the entire play.

Verdict gets off to a slow start. It’s unfortunate that the opening scenes of both acts involve Lester Cole played by Matthew Lewis. His delivery lacks subtlety and his voice remains at one level throughout which I found rather grating. Fortunately his is not a big part and the other actors all deliver fine performances. I especially enjoyed the performances of the leading women. Dawn Steele, currently star of Wild at Heart and formally of Monarch of the Glen fame, plays the part of Lisa Koletzky, and delivers a fine performance, as does Ali Bastian , star of Strictly Come Dancing who plays the part of Helen Rollander, the spoilt student and eventual murderer. I also enjoyed the performances of Robert Duncan as Professor Karl Hendryx, who delivers a thoughtful and believable performance, and Mark Wynter as Doctor Stoner.

Verdict takes a while to get going, nevertheless it is an interesting study of ideas concerning morality and ethics and the dilemma of trying to do the right thing and the consequences of getting it wrong. I found Verdict to be an enjoyable and thought provoking production. I also found it interesting to discover an Agatha Christie play that departs from the usual murder mystery.

Verdict is on at the Theatre Royal In Bath until Saturday 29th January. Tickets are available from the box office