Brilliant and always a step ahead, Dial M for Murder by Smoke & Mirrors Productions is a fantastic whodunnit experience, on now at Theatre Works St Kilda. In the hands of Dean Drieberg’s capable and imaginative direction, the cast’s chemistry soars, feeding the beast of a plot and never missing a beat.
Written by Frederick Knott as a reimagining of the iconic Hitchcock film, the play follows married couple Margot and Tony Wendice, Margot’s lover Max and a game of cat and mouse misinformation. Margot is lying to Tony about her affair with Max. Max wants to get Margot back. Tony wants Margot dead. The stage is set for a case of intrigue, tension, suspicion and murder.
Jodi Hope’s set design is beautiful; the hollow bones of a home provides a striking emptiness that serves as the perfect background to Tony’s cold persona.
After stretching our legs with a delicious, mulled wine at interval, we were surprised to see the set had changed period, from 1950s/1960s decor to the 1980s. The ornate picture frame on the fireplace was now a large, rounded plastic frame. The phone no longer had a winded dial; instead, a curved design with pressable numbers.
This happens again in the second act, transforming the set into a modern period complete with iPhones. The staging is complemented by Betty Auhl’s costume design, a beautiful ode to each period the play addresses.
At the start of the play and marking the start of each time jump, Margot takes centre stage and is dressed and posed by her male supporting actors. At the start, her character is happy to comply, but by the end, she no longer smiles when forced and keeps her hands by her side, defiant and angry.
This adds emphasis to Margot’s character arc, bringing it to a modern setting as the plot takes a misogynistic turn. It drives home the point that female survivors and victims of crime at the hands of men who are ignored by the law is nothing new. A powerful and careful choice by Drieberg.
The writing is wordy and witty, with razor-sharp dialogue that keeps the audience guessing at every turn. It’s the kind of script that reminds you that while wording is everything, it’s nothing without the rhythm the actors bring to it. It is well-paced and fabulously performed.
The play reveals information in a wonderful way, relying on these words to carry the audience through each event. With a few vaguely dated lines, the cast plays them perfectly straight; a great execution and dedication to the time period.
Through heavy accents, each member of the cast is really evocative. Bridget Bourke, in particular, as Margot, really carries the emotional weight of the story. She brings such a vulnerability to the character, allowing the audience to see inside her inner conflict between believing her husband and standing her ground in her truth.
As Margot’s husband, Tony, Tyrie Aspinall is chilling and gives a performance akin to that of Christian Bale in American Psycho. He plays both sides of the character in such a well-defined split: his charming and well-spoken exterior and his cold, calculating interior.
When the final time jump occurs, some of the dialogue at times feels out of place, but nothing diminishes the rhythm of the story. My favourite is in the final unpacking of the murder, as Inspector Hubbard, played by Joshua Bruce, pieces the murder together.
He says, “Then, I had a brainwave,” which garners an immediate chorus of laughter. This is not to say the audience was laughing at the dialogue. To me, playing this straight gives sudden light to a particularly tense moment in the story, breaking the audience out of their trance for a brief moment with lighthearted reprieve.
The wordiness of the play also means that when action does occur, it is haunting. The calculated moments of violence are striking, supported by the thumping base of a great score.
Dial M for Murder is a play that has plenty to chew on. It is an adaptation that takes bold swings and lands each one. It’s a refreshing whodunnit that keeps you gripped tight as the story twists and turns.
Dial M For Murder runs to 16 August at Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street St Kilda Vic 3182.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/dial-m-for-murder
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/smokeandmirrors_australia/
Photo credits: Dave McCarthy
