Based on the 1972 film starring Laurence Olivier & Michael Caine, ‘Sleuth’ has now been adapted for the stage and this week their national tour arrived at Guildford’s beautiful Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

Boldly billed as ‘the world’s greatest thriller’, the story takes us to a 1970’s Wiltshire manor house owned by murder mystery writer Andrew Wyke (Todd Boyce). We follow a game of deception, trickery and betrayal as Wyke’s wife’s lover Milo Tindle (Neil McDermott) arrives at the house and both men attempt to outdo the other in cunning gamesmanship, leading to a psychological thriller full of surprising twists and turns.

Anthony Shaffer writes a wonderfully intriguing piece, constantly keeping the audience guessing until the final curtain. It is however a little slow at times and Rachel Kavanaugh’s direction seems ironically safe amongst loud gunshots and dangerous murder weapons.

The performances from McDermott and Boyce unfortunately feel a tad underwhelming. There’s no doubt they give their all and it’s an impressive marathon from both of them but a large amount of Boyce’s dialogue is disappointingly lost, which is especially odd given the fact that the actors strangely wear microphones throughout. He performs in a monotone, well-spoken accent but it’s hard to follow at times. Credit must go though to McDermott’s impressive accent range and physical character choices.

Julie Godfrey’s set design is truly beautiful. The lounge of the country house looks aptly grand and majestic as the curtain rises, complete with wooden staircase and balcony. There’s also a wonderful working and life size ‘laughing sailor’ prop made ingeniously by Spur Creative. A special mention to the programme designers too – there’s even skilful twists there…

It’s an admirable production and an entertaining evening at the theatre, perhaps just lacking a touch of extra creativity and spark.

⭐️⭐️⭐️