Jason Taylor’s lighting design provides wonderfully nuanced moments of sensory deprivation. The most impressive part of the set is a screen that serves as the walls of the family home, but when backlit transforms to an incredibly effective-through screen.
Though the set is simplistic with three separate areas, it is impeccably designed and serves as the perfect background for the storyline, through seamless scene transitions. Once this is clear, it all slots into place and helps support certain plot points by making characters more (or less) likeable.ĭespite the story featuring multiple murders, Michael Holt’s design helps to soften the blow and the scenes are not graphic at all. At first, the jokes and commentary seem a tad out of place, but it soon becomes evident that the sarcastic intonation is aiding character development. Littered throughout the show are unexpected comedic moments that help relax the palpable tension in the air.
That said, the style opens up the piece to a wider audience making it more accessible to those wanting to branch out into the genre but who are a little intimidated by shows such as The Woman in Black. Marketed as a crime-thriller, Looking Good Dead is more murder-mystery as it lacks the shock and jump factor required to be a true bone-chilling thriller. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is drafted in as the police officer leading the investigation (played by understudy Lee Peck on opening night).
Upon accessing the files, they are redirected to a website that puts their lives in danger and its anticipation aplenty as the Bryce family’s lives unravel and spiral out of control. Patriarch Tom Bryce, played by Adam Woodyatt, finds a USB on a train and opens the files with the help of his son Max (Luke Ward-Wilkinson). The play revolves around the Bryce family and their efforts to navigate their own issues and exist as a cohesive family unit, only to have life as they know it screech to a halt as they witness the unspeakable. Indeed, the scene is set before the show even begins, the auditorium is submerged in darkness with an eerily soothing nature soundtrack playing, a perfect juxtaposition to the production that follows. The gripping murder-mystery stars British television stalwarts Adam Woodyatt ( EastEnders, On the Razzle) and Gaynor Faye ( The Syndicate, Coronation Street, Emmerdale) as the leads, promising high-quality performances from the onset. Looking Good Dead, a new play adapted from the book by no.1 best-selling author Peter James, begins its weeklong residence at Milton Keynes Theatre bringing with it, thrills and chills in abundance.
Writer: Original by Peter James, adapted by Shaun McKenna Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye as Tom and Kellie Bryce in Looking Good Dead
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