At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022, Ottawa Little Theatre staged a contemporary ghost story, ‘Burn’ by John Muggleton, which received rave reviews and a Carol Tambor Incentive Award. Now the Canadian company is back with Muggleton’s new play, ‘An Act of Grace,’ a cleverly conceived, crisply performed, tightly directed thriller with a dastardly twist.
The large square thrust stage set represents a neatly furnished lounge with armchairs, ottoman, console table, vase of flowers, drinks trolley. In the opening sharp, short scene, an anguished command, ‘shoot her, do it!’, as a man aims a revolver at a hooded woman in a chair. A typical filmic prologue as we then rewind a few frames to observe what happened before.
Chuck, a tall, athletic guy seems in a daze, ‘Today is a shitty day, how did I end up with a gun’? As a former golf pro, now financial advisor, he had been invited by Grace, a wealthy widow at her grand mansion to a meeting, presumably to discuss potential investments; he is therefore surprised at the arrival of Tony, a lawyer, whom he remembers vaguely from school. While Grace makes a phone call, they chat about mutual friends, their respective careers, both wondering what financial or legal advice this lady, whom they do not know, may require.
‘What do you do?’, Chuck asks Grace, brusquely. ‘Do?’, she instantly replies, annoyed that he would think she actually worked for a living, ‘I inherited’. She is seriously ill with just a few months to live and requires her affairs and estate to be put in order. No plot spoiler here; what ensues is a most extraordinary, unexpected narrative through a meandering maze of stories to reveal hidden secrets, both personal and professional, the juicy meat on the bone to offer the ideal motivation for blackmail. And murder.
Dressed in smart casual Country club attire, peach polo shirt and cream chinos, Chuck is every inch the Golfer, who after playing 18 holes was partial to #19 too. As the tension and temperature rises, Tony, in business suit and tie, is physically perspiring, fraught and frazzled, his change in demeanour sharply portrayed. In the centre is the charming, graceful Grace, whose every gesture we observe and statement we hear is subtly played out with ever more confusing twists and turns.
The fast-flowing conversations, argument and debate between Chuck and Tony is brisk and brusque, words batted to and fro with the ferocity of a Djokovic /Murray Wimbledon final. Each man determined to win. Brightening the mood, the dialogue is peppered with sardonic humour, all part of the protagonist's cool, calculated, narcissistic control.
The action takes place in a most intimate theatre space with the audience all around, up close and personal, with such close attention to costume and furnishings. Hospitality by the hostess Grace is generous with regular top ups of champagne and expensive vintage Dalmore whisky. However, the drinking is all curiously mimed with empty bottles and glasses, (rather than usual stage props), which detracts from the realism of the superb setting and characterisation.
John Muggleton has the devious insight of Patricia Highsmith, the ingenious plotting of an Agatha Christie mystery with the dramatic pace of a Hitchcock thriller. Think of a crazy blend of ‘Dial M for Murder’, ‘Strangers on a Train’, ‘And Then there were None’.
In the contemporary era of lucractive, financial scams, this is a meticulously crafted, slick, psychological thriller which delves into the exploitation of unsuspecting victims to plan the perfect crime.
Showtimes:
2 – 24 August, 2024 @ 12.05
Ticket prices: £12 (£9)
Age guidance: 16+
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/act-of-grace