Reviews Roundup: Witness For The Prosecution

County Hall, South Bank, London

It was the venue as much as the play itself that wowed the critics Agatha Christie’s courtroom drama was revived. The former London County Council building County Hall stunned most of the reviewers and is a major contributor to its continuing popularity with audiences. Some reviews are from the opening, and some coincided with the 2000th performance in early 2024. The cast changes every so often but has so far featured top quality actors.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Olivia Garrett for the Radio Times (5★) called it ‘a spine-tingling and mesmerising watch which messes with your mind perfectly.’

Michael Billington in The Guardian (4★) said it was ‘imaginatively staged by Lucy Bailey’. Tom Wicker for Time Out (4★) called it ‘a deliciously enjoyable revival’ and praised the director: ‘Bailey plays up the melodrama beautifully’.

Marianka Swain in the Telegraph (4★) described it as ‘pleasingly old-fashioned fare’. She continued, ‘Christie’s bravura twisty plotting is still second to none. Combined with Bailey’s inspired use of an historic location, it’s criminally entertaining.’

TheArtsDesk’s Heather Neill (4★) found herself in ‘a magnificent, atmospheric space, standing in for the Old Bailey.’ The Times’ Clive Davis (4★) agreed, ‘the best reason for seeing Lucy Bailey’s handsome courtroom revival… is the setting itself.’

’the entertainment here lies in the twists and turns of the plot,’ declared Sarah Hemming in The Financial Times (3★) However, ‘The production struggles more in the intimate scenes in legal chambers and falls awkwardly flat in the one episode outside the court’. Henry Hitchins for The Standard (3★) noted, ‘Lucy Bailey’s production relishes the conventions of courtroom drama, not least the emphasis on ritual’ but thought it ‘a bit slow-footed … and lacks a nagging element of mystery.’

Will Longman for LondonTheatre (3★) complained, ‘The audience isn’t given enough to go on, and so there isn’t an air of mystery to this murder.’ Theo Bosanquet at WhatsOnStage (3★) found ‘this Agatha Christie classic still provides twists and gasp-inducing reveals aplenty, even if its melodramatic tendencies somewhat undermine the emotional impact’. He was disappointed that ‘the climax – no spoilers, of course – is action-packed but left me rather cold. It feels like an almost pantomimic finale to what is until then a slow-burning thriller.’

Natasha Tripney reviewing for The Stage (2★) was one of the few reviewers who didn’t like the venue: ‘the sheer size of the room proves cumbersome and exposing’. She wasn’t keen on the production either which she called ‘disappointingly pedestrian’.

Critics’ Average Rating 3.5★

Value rating 47 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

Read Paul Seven’s review of Witness For The Prosecution 

Witness For The Prosecution can be seen at County Hall. Click here to buy tickets direct from the producer

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