Not Dead Enough is the third in the Roy Grace series of novels by multi million selling author Peter James. It is similarly the third to get the stage treatment. Unfortunately it is also third rate.

It is hard for the theatre to compete with other forms of entertainment and this evening’s show coincided with the screening of the much hyped TV crime thriller series Broadchurch.  It was also raining heavily and a chill wind blew around the shoulders of those brave souls who favoured an evening out.

What they got was a recognisable name from the theatre and TV soaps in Shane Richie playing the sort of Detective they easily recognised. He’s a good honest copper who got annoyed when his subordinates made mistakes and had a tragic personal back story. This neatly resurfaced during the investigation of a murder of a woman, presumably by her husband who had an alibi that he was 60 miles away at the time of the deed.  Richie was perfectly cast and entirely convincing in a not terribly demanding role which played to his strengths, allowing his comic timing to supplement his dramatic interventions, best shown in the interrogation of the suspected killer.

Making her professional debut was presenter Laura Whitmore, and although she portrayed the coolness and professionalism of a pathologist that was where any exact science ended and the workplace romance formula didn’t elicit much of a chemical reaction.

Stephen Billington had the hardest job in the piece as he in turn convinced the audience of his guilt and then his innocence, finally giving his all in a tormented finale when perhaps it may have been best to have held something back.

What couldn’t be held back was the creaking plot and dialogue which never escaped the tired constraints of amateur sleuthing. There wasn’t enough evidence to warrant a charge although everything pointed to the culprit. So it couldn’t be him.  Could it?

The dramatic flow was maintained with assurance by director Ian Talbot with Michael Holt’s design of a split lateral stage allowing the scenes to flow organically from the chillingly realistic mortuary to the police station and the Brighton seafront.  There were moments of genuine horror in set pieces when the audience physically shuddered with anticipation and these did get a pulse running.

Supporting roles from Michael Quartey as the Sergeant, Gemma Stroyan as Bella and particularly by Gemma Atkins as the duped Sophie helped a bit, but ultimately any depth there may have been in the novel was not drawn out by dialogue or on the stage.

During the second act it became apparent that further plot twists would develop and as I started to ponder which would be the most far-fetched and unrealistic, the denouement was tortuously revealed as the one I had considered the most implausible.

Sadly, Not Dead Enough was Not Good Enough.   ★★☆☆☆   Bryan Mason    28^th February 2017