Adapted from the book that has sold over 2 million copies, Dead Simple is the best-selling book by Peter James. Read more …
Michael Harrison thinks he has it all; great career, good friends and a beautiful fiancée. But when his stag night prank goes horribly wrong, Michael finds himself alone, buried alive and staring death in the face. As time runs out and the terror grows, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace tries to solve his mysterious disappearance, but begins to fear that Michael will never be found in time.
What remains is a largely entertaining if undemanding whodunnit, which passes the time but remains peculiarly uninvolving.
Dead Simple is not dead dull but it bears a strong similarity to Victorian melodrama with its trapdoors and sudden shocks. Modern audiences surely find this tawdry manipulation all a bit too much to bear. Or, then again, maybe not.
Dead Simple feels more like a cheap TV pilot than a piece of theatre. It's hard not to conclude that James's terrific technique as a crime writer is better suited to the screen than the stage.
While there are enough double bluffs and cheap thrills to keep the uninitiated guessing, including one carefully placed shock-moment, this harmlessly ridiculous affair is probably for James fans only.
A theatrical thrill ride that’s well worth watching.
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Monday February 2, 2015, until Saturday February 7, 2015. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings
Theatre Royal, Glasgow from Monday May 18, 2015, until Saturday May 23, 2015. More info: www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyalglasgow/