THEATRE | Previews
THRILLER DEATHTRAP Dundee Rep, Tue 20 Feb–Sat 10 Mar
As if Johnny McKnight hasn’t been working hard enough already – his pantomimes at the Tron and Macrobert have been praised for their ability to maintain panto’s innocent tradition while pushing the pop-cultural envelope – his direction of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap for Dundee Rep reveals more of his genre-savvy sensibility.
‘The piece plays with the idea of what sort of mind would write a thriller and, indeed, are they a thrill seeker just like the devious minds of the characters that live within the play,’ he says. ‘I’m drawing reference on all of that genre – the work of Hitchcock, film noir and, indeed, those thrillers that are referenced throughout the piece.
The script itself is aware of the traditions that inform
it: ‘There’s a meta angle running through the play,’ he says. ‘Despite it being written in the late 70s – it still feels questioning of its own theatricality. ‘In some ways, it’s a bit of a departure. Normally, I work
with my own new writing (and comedy),’ McKnight continues. ‘This piece is different. It’s American in flavour, heightened and operatic at times, there’s a sense of melodrama that runs through it. That’s quite a departure from my normal Scottish- based work.’ Following the adventures of a failing writer – and how far he
will go to recover the limelight – McKnight recognises how Deathtrap’s combination of excitement, humour and genre- bending offers the perfect night out. ‘I want to make sure we capture the laughs and thrills and jeopardy that I felt for the characters when I first read it,’ he concludes. ‘Theatre’s at its very best when it’s unapologetically entertaining, when it absolutely grabs its audience and doesn’t let it go.’ (Gareth K Vile)
A CITIZENS THEATRE AND HOME CO-PRODUCTION
Written by STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS A Tron Theatre Company & Sherman Theatre co-production
Preview: Thu 1 March 2018 Fri 2 – Sat 17 March 2018 0141 552 4267 | tron.co.uk
Original Broadway Production Produced by Scott Rudin, Public Theater Productions (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes, Executive Producer), LAByrinth Theater Company, Fabula Media Partners LLC, Jean Doumanian, Ruth Hendel, Carl Moellenberg, Jon B. Platt and Tulchin Bartner/Jamie de Roy. The Tron Theatre Ltd. is a Scottish Registered Charity No: SC012081
86 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2018
BY EUGENE O’NEILL
13 APR - 5 MAY The 20th-century American classic directed by Dominic Hill
Supported by Friends of the Citizens
BOOK NOW 0141 429 0022 citz.co.uk
Citizens Theatre Ltd. Registered in Scotland No. SC022513 and is a Scottish Charity No. SC001337. £2 transaction fee applied to online and telephone sales. No charges for in person sales.