Dragon Review: The Other Side of Murder – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Published on: 17 Sep, 2026
Updated on: 17 Sep, 2026

Susannah is in charge, Peter is stressed. Rufus Hound and Carla Mendonca. Picture: Manuel Harlan

By Ference Hepp

Murder at Midnight, Murder in the Dark and now, The Other Side of Murder. These are all hit productions by Original Theatre, and it is the latter, in association with Theatre Clwyd, which has a week’s run at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre this week.

Written by Torben Betts and directed by Philip Franks, it has a bit of everything: farce, comedy, drama and thriller. We find ourselves in Peter and Susannah’s house, which they inherited from Susannah’s mother, Miriam.

There is a kitchen, living area and a dining room table, therefore no need for any lengthy scene changes to interrupt the pace.

Peter (Rufus Hound), professionally known as the medium Darius Divine, is home alone, preparing for a visit from his daughter Jen from Australia, who he has not seen since she was a small child.

Laura wants revenge. Aisha Jawando and Rufus Hound. Manuel Harlan

Laura (Aisha Jawando), Peter’s pregnant lover, turns up unexpectedly, and Susannah (Carla Mendoca) presumes that she is Silvie, the French girl they hired to cook for their dinner party.

Chaos ensues, and Colin Falconer’s design allows plenty of farcical and physical comedy with the use of the set and a plethora of props, mixed with clever direction by Philip Franks, making the action entertaining and engrossing.

Mendonca as Susannah is very much in charge. Nothing phases her and she has a solution for everything. She thinks that her relationship with Peter is “solid, secure, fighting each other’s corners”, which is clearly not the case.

Their partnership is comfortable, enduring, but things could explode and problems exposed at any time. As Mendoca keeps calm, Hound is the complete opposite, and we can see him getting increasingly agitated and stressed throughout the whole time.

The two established actors have clearly worked hard on this, and this comes shining through. Jawando as Laura is versatile; frustrated, angry, and funny at the same time. We feel sorry for her but also curious to see how her deception turns out as Silvie.

Jason discovered what Laura has been up to. Andy McLeod. Manuel Harlan

Much later down the line, we meet Jason (Andy McLeod), Laura’s partner, who is understandably angry due to Laura’s escapades.

Jason is extremely bitter, but we also get to appreciate that he has had a hard life.

Miriam knows what’s going on. Susie Blake. Manuel Harlan

A Guildford favourite, Susie Blake, obsessed with Gilbert and Sullivan, is hilarious, scatty, and sees everything unseen and talks to the dead.

Blake brings plenty of energy to Miriam, Susannah’s mother: a perfect casting.

Beth Lilly as Jen is thrown into this chaos. She just wants a quiet chat, but the situation is far from accommodating. Her innocence and horror are clear to see.

Making his Original Theatre debut is local talent Oliver Byng. His roots are in Guildford, emerging from the local am dram scene, with an already impressive professional CV.

Watch out for his short but hilarious appearance towards the end of the play. But you will be able to see much more of him when takes on the role of Jason on Friday and Saturday.
There is a major twist which I did not see it coming and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments and plenty of drama.

Torben’s writing style is described by Susie Blake as “…Torben will twist emotion in one sentence… you can be laughing and then slapped round the face within
the space of a nanosecond. It’s fantastic.”

It certainly was, and a very enthusiastic Guildford audience agreed.

The Other Side of Murder runs until Saturday, September 19, and tickets are available via www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk or 01483 440000.