Review: Don’t Look Now
Don’t Look Now, currently on stage at Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre, is based on the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Du Maurier was a brilliant author and playwright — and when you see her name attached to a story, you just know you’re in for a treat. Think of The Birds, Rebecca and Jamaica Inn — all famously adapted for film by Alfred Hitchcock.
Don’t Look Now itself was made into a 1973 film starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie — a movie I’ll admit haunted me the first time I saw it.
The story centres on Laura and John Baxter, a couple devastated by loss who escape to Venice in the hope of leaving their grief behind. But as the saying goes, you can run, yet you cannot escape sorrow — and for the Baxters, things go from bad to worse.
This new stage adaptation, a collaboration between the New Wolsey and Salisbury Playhouse, uses simple but clever staging. A multi-level set and imaginative lighting draw the audience into the story from the start. It opens with a young girl silently colouring on the floor as the house lights slowly dim — almost imperceptibly — until the auditorium is in darkness and she alone is bathed in light. From that moment, the darkness is both literal and emotional.
Mark Jackson and Sophie Robinson give strong performances as John and Laura, supported by an excellent cast with no weak links. Alex Bulmer plays a clairvoyant, and Olivia Carruthers her sister — two mysterious women whose warnings bring both comfort and fear.
The production blends touching moments of normality with eerie visions and unsettling premonitions. As the drama builds to its chilling conclusion, the use of light and set design perfectly enhances the tension and emotion — proving that stagecraft can sometimes speak louder than words.
Don’t Look Now is a slow-burning but never dull piece of theatre — haunting, beautifully acted, and masterfully staged. Definitely worth seeing… and if you’re walking home afterwards, you might just find yourself glancing over your shoulder.
- Don’t Look Now is at The New Wolsey until 25th October. Book Tickets HERE>>
Review: Mark Keable, Ipswich24 Magazine
Picture: Manuel Harlan Photography