Edition catches up with the star of the Arts Theatre’s new murder mystery
Rehearsal for Murder hits Cambridge Arts Theatre this month, coming our way courtesy of The Classic Thriller Theatre Company. Penned by Levinson and Link, the writing team behind iconic TV shows Murder, She Wrote and Colombo, this fiendishly clever play within a play tells the story of playwright Alex Dennison, a man left heartbroken when his fiancée and leading lady Monica Welles is found dead from an apparent suicide. A year to the day after her death, Alex gathers the same cast and crew together in the same theatre, for a reading of his brand-new play. It soon becomes clear though, that Alex believes that his love was murdered – and that someone in the assembled group is to blame…
“I think the storyline is fantastic, there are lots of twists and turns”, says Lucy Dixon, who stars in the production. “Everyone’s always talking about people not going to the theatre any more; everyone’s more interested in cinema, but it very much has that feel to it. There are lots of little pieces of information that are given away constantly throughout, so the audience is led in one direction and then the other, and I think it’s a real edge-of-your-seat and gripping storyline.”
“It’s a real edge-of-your-seat and gripping storyline”
Dixon, whose previous credits include Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road, plays Karen Daniels, a young actress who forms part of the line-up of murder suspects. “When you first meet her she’s a very young, childish, excited girl and this is probably one of her first productions on stage”, she explains. “She’s working with a talented playwright and a very, very famous actress, so I think she’s trying to take it all in and is very naïve to it all. She has stars in her eyes with everyone. Then something happens and you see a different side to her, there’s very much a shift in her character, her demeanour, her personality, where she’s coming from and you see this much more grown-up woman who’s now got a business head on her shoulders and is very forthcoming with it. So it’s nice to play those two sides. She’s this feisty little thing, so she’s really exciting to play.”
It’s fair to say that Dixon had some stars in her eyes herself playing alongside a cast which features seasoned thesps including Robert Daws, Amy Robbins, Susan Penhaligon and Robert Duncan. “It’s great to be in a room with people that have such credits. It really encourages you as an actor, and it brings the best out in you because you are working alongside these people that are giving 100{b486c5a37ab2d325d17e17d701cb2567b1ecd1814e8ceb33effa2a4f1f171d46} constantly, which hugely helps. Daunting? Yes. Nervous? I was on the first day and I probably will be on the first night, but I love it. I love that buzz, I love that challenge”.
Having been a regular fixture on our TV screens from a young age, Dixon is no stranger to acting, but she’s been determinedly stepping out of her comfort zone for this show. How has she found the transition from screen to stage?
“One fundamental difference between TV and theatre – and one of the things I love about theatre – is that every night is different… and you discover these little nuances and breaks and these little points that people hit that they maybe didn’t hit before, or in a different way. It’s not that we’re changing the plot or the characters, but it’s nice to find those little beats that every night are slightly different and it keeps us on our toes, it’s refreshing for us as actors, nobody wants to go and see a stale theatre production.”
Rehearsal for Murder is at Cambridge Arts Theatre 7-12 March. Tickets are £18-£33.
