Review: Catch Me If You Can at Cambridge Arts Theatre

This classic Broadway thriller, adapted from French writer Robert Thomas’ play Trap for a Lonely Man, stars American actors Patrick Duffy of Dallas fame and his real-life partner Linda Purl (Happy Days, Homeland).

Appearing alongside them is Gray O’Brien (Peak Practice, Coronation Street) as Inspector Levine, who is called to a house in the remote Catskill mountains in New York State to investigate the disappearance of newly-married Elizabeth Corban. But when Elizabeth suddenly turns up, the plot twists come thick and fast.

The set perfectly captures the interior of a North American mountain home - complete with neat little touches such as a moose’s head mounted on the wall and stone brickwork - and the actors do a solid job of building the tension, amid some amusing moments.

Patrick Duffy is excellent, displaying understated elegance and dignified restraint as Daniel Corban, whose relaxed demeanour gradually falls away as his problems mount - and one can’t help but feel frustrated on his behalf at times as everything appears to go against him.

Duffy is ably supported by the rest of the cast; Ben Nealon is delightfully over-the-top-yet-sinister at times as Father Kelleher and Linda Purl is also very convincing as the ‘is-she-or-isn't-she’ wife. The first act ended on a cliffhanger and then more characters were introduced in the second half, adding to the mystery.

The twist when it finally comes is a good one and one I definitely didn’t see coming - and that alone makes this play a must-see event.

Catch Me If You Can is on at the Cambridge Arts Theatre until Saturday (May 28). For more information, visit cambridgeartstheatre.com.

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