Picture You Dead | The Lowry

Picture You Dead, a novel which is part of a series of books from thriller author Peter James, follows the career of Detective Roy Grace. In this particular novel which has been adapted for stage as part of a UK tour, we follow the story of a couple struggling financially who acquire a lost piece of famous art as a chance discovery at a car boot sale. Upon taking the piece of art to an antique dealer and discovering that this painting could potentially be worth a lot of money, the couple find themselves tangled up in a web of lies and conspiracies as a corrupt art collector does everything in his power to claim the painting, the final piece to complete his collection. Alongside this, Grace and his sidekick reopen a murder case which is suspected to coincide with the current criminal activity taking place.

As with any show advertised as a thriller, one would expect plenty of tension and plot twists to be built upon. However, unfortunately for this production, this didn't seem to be the case. Act one in particular feels incredibly slow, and whilst there are some enjoyable moments of dialogue in particular with the Detective and Dave Hegarty, a master of art copies, the stagnance of the storyline moving forwards felt palpable. And whilst there are some plot twists towards the end of the second act, they feel like they are served as a purpose of comedic relief rather than creating a dramatic moment of intrigue and excitement.

On top of this, there seems to be a lack of character development overall, leaving many of the characters feeling one dimensional and leading to a difficulty to understand many of the character's motives, causing the plot twists to feel humorous rather than shocking the audience.

There are some memorable performances, particularly Peter Ash who gives a devious and cunning performance as Dave Hegarty, and Jodie Steele as Roberta Kilgore, who is stellar at balancing moments of comedy with her character's darker side. However, some of the acting choices come over as sickly sweet or almost panto-villain like, leaving the play feeling more like a comedy rather than a gripping thriller. It's hard to understand any character and their motives, leading to a difficulty to engage with the storyline fully.

Adrian Linford's multi-functional set design is impressive, setting the story in three different locations, with the actors operating around the set and transporting the story to each location seamlessly with great direction from Jonathan O'Boyle. Lighting design from Jason Taylor is striking and is effective in creating atmosphere and focus on some particularly specific moments.

For a first encounter of the work of Peter James, there is enough to enjoy within this show, even if it's not what you'd originally expect. However, for those who are looking for a captivating edge of your seat thriller, you may be feeling slightly disheartened by this production.

Picture You Dead runs at The Lowry until Saturday 19th April.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

Tickets and More Information

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography provided by The Lowry