REVIEWER - GAIL SJOGREN

The House by the Lake is worth a visit.

Most of us enjoy a good murder mystery, and that is just what The House by the Lake delivers in the Ballarat National Theatre’s Christmas production which has been described as a “Christie-ish crime comedy”.

The audience knows full well who has done the deed, and at first sympathises with the motive if not the action. But there are many twists to be unravelled in this well-crafted plot before the whole truth is laid bare.

The time is the late 1940’s as excellent costuming suggests. The set takes us into the living room of the house by the lake, with clever lighting effects providing a flickering wood fire inside and the winter sun reflecting on the icy lake beyond the window. It is in the lake that the body is found and ….but no more of the story for fear of giving too much away!

Appropriately moody music heightens the tension as this is as much a psychological study as anything else. The acting is consistent and strong with a particularly stand-out performance from Mary-Rose McLaren as the vulnerable wife of a deregistered psychiatrist. She is ably supported by Paul Rose as her husband, Peppa Sindar as his sister and co-conspirator, John Daykin as their singularly unlikeable step-brother and Linda Ogier as his long-suffering and abused wife. Haydn Vincent and Ed Daly provide the forces of law and order while Loryl Oglethorpe and Sally Read provide household help and nursing skill.

Though the action starts slowly, the emotional tension increases until the unexpected but very satisfying ending. All in all an enjoyable night out before the holiday season reaches fever pitch!