RoPE
A PLAY BY PATRICK HAMILTON
"I have done murder. I have committed murder. I have committed passionless, motiveless, faultless, and clueless murder. Bloodless and noiseless murder." - Wyndham Brandon.
For the mere sake of adventures, danger, and the "fun of the thing" Wyndham Brandon persuades his weak-minded friend, Charles Granillo, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate, a perfectly harmless man named Ronald Kentley. They place the body in a wooden chest, and to add spice to their handiwork, invite a few acquaintances, including the dead youth's father, to a party, the chest with its gruesome contents serving as a supper grows outside, the guests leave, and we see the reactions of the two murderers, watched closely by the suspecting lame poet, Rupert Cadell. It's a murder mystery in the context of you know who did it and why they did it, but will they get caught?
Rope first produced and published in 1929, was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948 and remains to this day one of the classics of the thriller genre.
Cast: 6 male, 2 female.
I think what interests me the most about this play is how two young people can commit such a terrible crime and feel like they can get away with it. It's not like a murder mystery where someone has been murdered and the murderer and their reasons for doing what they did is revealed at the end, you know who did it and why they did it and the threat of exposure could come at any point, it's interesting to watch characters reaction to that and it will be interesting to see how the audience react to it as well. The chase is on!
The main thing I love about doing a play is the rehearsal time because that's 80% of the whole process, the cast really get to delve into their characters and discussing things over, that's when things start to come off the page and as soon as you've set it, it all becomes a lot easier.
It's a joy to come to rehearsals and watch the cast work their magic because all of them come from different backgrounds, have got their own experiences and have particular set of skills which they bring to the play.
I'm thrilled to be working on Rope, so please, come and see this fantastic play!
BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW: http://www.abbeytheatre.org.uk/whats-on/rope/
