The Business of Murder
Theatre Royal Nottingham, Tuesday 26th August 2025
The Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season has been a firm fixture in the Theatre Royal calendar since the 1980s during the traditionally quieter summer months. A handful of actors, many returning year after year, present tales of murder and suspense in a repertory style to a loyal and mostly senior audience.
Written by Richard Harris, The Business of Murder ran for eight years in London’s West End. A prolific writer for the small screen, Harris is now perhaps better remembered on stage for his comedies Stepping Out and Outside Edge.
As the curtain rises, we encounter Superintendent Hallett (John Goodrum) who has been invited to the dingy flat of the seemingly mild-mannered Stone (David Gilbrook) whose son has got himself tied up with some unsavoury characters peddling drugs. Stone wants Hallett to meet his son in order to get some leads that will bring the bad guys to justice. After helping Stone tidy up the mess his son has left their home in, Hallett soon departs when it becomes clear the son isn’t likely to show up any time soon.
Shortly afterwards we are introduced to former journalist and crime drama writer Dee (Sarah Wynne Kordas) who has also been invited to Stone’s home having agreed to discuss a script written by Stone’s offstage wife. After knocking back a steady supply of vodka and tonics, Dee begins to feel uneasy with Stone who seems to know much more about her life than she remembers sharing with him. When he walks out to fetch pills from the car for his restless missus, in again walks Hallett who is surprised to see Dee with whom we learn he is romantically entwined. In Stone’s absence the pair make a few unexplained discoveries which set up the action for Stone’s return in the second half.
All three actors bring enthusiasm to their roles and handle the text generally well, but the performances themselves are rather hit and miss. As Hallett, Goodrum sneers his way around the stage with a swagger and mannerisms that appear to have been lifted from an episode of The Bill. His slimy and stereotypical performance is mostly delivered out front with an apparent reluctance to make eye contact with his fellow actors.
As Dee, Kordas starts out promisingly as the confident and assured writer, but as the play progresses and tension mounts, she resorts increasingly to playing hysteria and panic in a forced and unconvincing manner.
Gilbrook as Stone is to be commended for the sheer volume of lines he has successfully committed to memory. The most competent of the three actors, he nonetheless has the tendency to punctuate his performance with an excess of unnecessary physical gestures.
A functional but uninspiring set by Conal Walsh gives Stone’s apartment the depressing feel I assume he was aiming for. Dee’s big hair and bold 80s costume are one of the more amusing touches to an otherwise mediocre production.
To be fair, a significant number of the audience appeared to enjoy this evening’s performance, and I realise that this type of theatre may well just not be for me. However, with a running time of around two and a half hours The Business of Murder had me less on the edge of my seat and more slumped into it, such is the dull and meandering nature of the script. Full of unnecessary exposition and a host of tedious clichés, there was little that thrilled me about this thriller which I feel could quite easily have got the story across in half the time.
