Deathtrap Set to Ensnare Newtown Audiences

One of the world’s great thrillers plays at Newtown’s King Street for four performances this September as part of 2017 Sydney Fringe festival.

Deathtrap by Ira Levin (A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil) holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway with 1793 performances. Winner of the American Mystery Writers’ Edgar Award, it was adapted into a 1982 film starring Christopher Reeve, Michael Caine and Dyan Cannon.

The play centres on fictional playwright Sidney Bruhl - who knows all about murder, having written a few successful murder mysteries on Broadway. However, his murderous muse has deserted him and his last play flopped. Desperate for another success, he contemplates murder for real!

Sidney receives a script from a former student, Clifford Anderson, and is instantly consumed with jealousy as he realises it is the perfect thriller and a sure-fire Broadway hit. He must have it… and invites Clifford over on the pretence of giving it ‘the Bruhl polish’. The trap is set…

An Exit Game Production in association with Sydney Fringe, Deathtrap is directed by Debbie Smith and features Nicholas Gledhill, Denise Kitching, Cassady Maddox, Amrik Tumber and Catherine Waters.

Cassady and Amrik chatted about the play during a break from rehearsals.

Amrik Tumber: Can you give us a little clue about what happens in this thriller? 

Cassady Maddox: Well I don’t want to give too much away! Deathtrap is a battle of wits and of wills in which every character has their own agenda and it’s anyone’s guess how far they’ll go to get what they want. The play is set firmly in a 1970s world of Xerox and typewriters, but the central theme of what people will do for fame and fortune remains very relevant in this age of youtube celebs and reality shows that capitalise on the questionable morality of people seeking their fifteen minutes of fame. 

Amrik Tumber: Tell us about your dream role, apart from playing Myra Bruhl in Deathtrap (obviously!)? 

Cassady Maddox: I’m a big fan of Shakespeare and I’ve always wanted to play Hamlet. I played Ophelia when I was in high school and it was great fun, but it’s the male characters that are fully-realised humans, that get to take on the big themes and get dark and dirty with the deep questions. What’s great is that more and more often, we’re seeing theatre that recognises women are just as capable of tackling these big themes as men are. Kate Mulvany’s award-winning performance as Richard in Bell Shakespeare’s Richard 3 this year was without a doubt the most spellbinding theatre performance I have ever seen. I’m fortunate enough to be part of SheShakespeare, a new all-female theatre group, and playing “the melancholy Jaques” in our debut production of As You Like It in October/November this year. That definitely ticks a box on my personal acting bucket list!

Amrik Tumber: What have you enjoyed most about the rehearsal process for Deathtrap? 

Cassady Maddox: It’s a very clever play that works on multiple levels, and it’s been really fun working out the dynamics of the subtext and pulling out the double meanings in the dialogue. Do I ever really mean what I say, or say what I mean? There’s a lot going on behind the lines and I think we find new clues in every rehearsal. 

Amrik Tumber: Theatre doesn't have a role to play in today's digital entertainment age - discuss....

Cassady Maddox: Look, I like film and TV as much as the next guy but there’s something about the shared energy in a live theatre production that just can’t be replicated on a screen. It’s comparable to the vibe of live music, though perhaps isn’t as recognised among mainstream entertainment audiences. I think people recognise the uniqueness of that feeling when they experience it, the tricky bit is getting people to tear themselves away from their devices (and turn the damn things off when they’re in the theatre!). 

Amrik Tumber: Who is your favourite character in the play?

Cassady Maddox: Well, I feel like Myra would be miffed if I didn’t say it was her, or at least her darling, infuriating husband Sidney. But I think Helga Ten Dorp, the celebrity psychic, is the one character that really gives Deathtrap its unique flavour. To quote Myra, “People are always interested in psychics who can point at someone and say ‘This man murdered that man’”. She’s quite an enigma. 

Cassady Maddox:  The play Deathtrap revolves around a play script that’s so good it’s worth killing for.  What play script do you think it so good that you wish you could take credit for it? 

Amrik Tumber:  Me, taking credit for someone else’s play….never!  I’m very happy to leave the credit of a play with its due owner.  That said, there are so many plays out there that I love and that resonant with me.  I particularly enjoy plays which innovate in creating a more dynamic theatrical experience for audiences.  Tom Stoppard’s plays, such as Indian Ink, spring to mind.   

Cassady Maddox: In the 1982 film based on the play, your character, Clifford Anderson, is played by Christopher Reeve aka Superman. What superhero would you like to play, and why?  

Amrik Tumber:  Easy.  Although I could never do her justice, I would love to play Super Gran!  All other superheroes simply pale in comparison.  She was the lead of a children’s TV program in the UK. I’m not sure if her super powers got her across land and seas to Australia.   

Cassady Maddox: Clifford is a bit of a fanboy when it comes to writer Sidney Bruhl.  Who would you “fanboy out” over, so to speak? 

Amrik Tumber:  I could “fanboy out” over William Shakespeare all day long, if he were still with us.  It’s a cliche, I know, but the discoveries within his text are both wondrous and endless.  His exposé of the human condition, through countless plays and poems, rings so true today.  

Cassady Maddox:  Who is your favourite character in the play? 

Amrik Tumber:  Helga ten Dorp, with her psychic powers.  Need I say more!

Cassady Maddox: Do you think it’s important to identify closely with your character, or do you prefer playing characters unlike yourself?  What do you feel are the main similarities between yourself and Clifford?  

Amrik Tumber:  Finding some form of commonality always helps me and I believe we can all find common ground with people/characters who are seemingly very different.  Clifford and I share a love for plays and writing stories, and we both have an overactive imagination and are highly ambitious.  I could go on…but I will stop there!

Exit Game Productions presents

DEATHTRAP by Ira Levin

13-16 September, Wed-Sat 7.30pm

King Street Theatre, 644 King Street, corner Bray St, Newtown

Tickets $30 / $25 conc / $20 groups 10+
Bookings: www.kingstreettheatre.com.au/deathtrap 
or  www.sydneyfringe.com