Theatre Review: Double Indemnity at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal

Based on J.M. Cain’s 1943 crime novella, Double Indemnity is most well known for it's 1944 screen adaptation by Billy Wilder in 1944 starring Barbara Stanwyk and Fred MacMurray which birthed a shadowy film-noir classic. Now transformed by Tom Holloway for an on-stage, thrilling theatrical production, this modern retelling of the mysterious tale of lust and deception is directed by Oscar Toeman. Based upon a true murder case, it stars Mischa Barton as Phyllis Nirdlinger, the unseeming femme-fatale, and Ciarán Owen as Walter Huff, a sharp-eyed insurance salesman. 

In taking our seats, we immediately noted the particularly foreboding and industrial set design - constructed of one large concrete corridor, narrowing as it furthers onto the backstage. And adorning the background spelt-out the famous 'HOLLYWOOD' sign in great, white letters.

The hard-faced stage design offers a snapshot into 1930’s Downtown Los Angeles, a city wrapped in the brutal aftermath of the Great Depression. Through design alone, the moody lighting and dilapidated scenery already spoke of the fragility and depravity we were to witness.

As the smoke billows over the bleak corridor, a bright light pangs onto our protagonist - Walter Huff - who commences our thriller with a rather poignant monologue. He enters front stage, unceremoniously tying his tie and straightening his cream suit jacket, as he frankly shatters any semblance of a fourth wall. Like staring down the barrel of a gun, his narration is clear - he can see you, just as well as you can see him. 

By no means are we, the audience, a fly on a wall. No - as Toeman admits, he wants us to feel we’re all in this room, together. That we are in this scheme, together. And, importantly, we are complicit, together.

Enter stage, Mischa Barton, on her UK stage debut as Double Indemnity’s wilful seductress, Phyllis Nirdlinger. As her flowy silhouette materialises into view, her shadow cascades and climbs up the concrete wall - and her presence lingers in the air. Barton excellently embodies the cunning, temptress nature of Phyllis, a patient woman sobered by her own hubris and hedonism. 

Having fallen foul of her husband, Mr Nirdlinger, Phyllis seduces Walter Huff. As her lustful and agreeable accomplice, the pair fashion-up the perfect crime. Quietly issuing insurance for Mr Nirdlinger, the duo plan to murder him soon after, framing it as an accidental tragedy, claiming the insurance’s double indemnity payout, and together, clearing-out of L.A. scot-free and with heavy pockets.

Bringing this performance to life were incredible ensemble roles from Martin Marques, playing Keyes, a matter-of-fact insurance broker. From Joseph Langdon playing both Mr Norton, the company boss tormented by uncertainty, and Nino, a ne’er-do-well boyfriend of Lola Nirdlinger (played by Sophia Roberts). And Gillian Saker as Nettie, Walter’s methodical secretary.

Throughout the performance the set design appears to periodically uproot itself. Brilliantly, the scene transitions from one location to another - the walls of the set unfold, as new spaces emerge, revealing new realities where doors and cupboards appeared seamlessly out of concrete walls. Silently, the concrete walls transform from grey slabs, to grated panels, to dimly lit doorways and walkways, and then back again, as if it were never any different… A true sense of uncertainty is bestowed - the audience can never be too sure what may be real or just a mere illusion.

The plot thickens as the audience ventures into the perils of those living in the midst of Hollywood’s golden-era. Powerlessly and with gritted teeth, we witness the tale of Walter, a curiously vigilant man, and Phyllis, a calculating seductress, as their lives intertwine and unfurl into suffocating webs of deceit, lust, and conspiracy - embarking on a scheme of the ultimate betrayal.

But, of course, things never are quite what they seem to be… 

For generations, J.M. Cain’s Double Indemnity has been a powerful thriller marked by taboo themes of murderous corruption and greed. And Holloway’s on-stage iteration is no exception. Since its publication, the plot has consistently fascinated audiences - perhaps because it is not so dystopian to imagine somebody embarking on such fatalist, immoral acts for financial gain today - just as they did in 1943. 

From the onset of the show, and throughout, we are forced to personally confront the moral corrosion of seemingly regular people, who turn to unsettling solutions when put under immense pressure.

While preserving J.M. Cain’s original depression-era story, and embracing Wilder’s on-screen film-noir aesthetic, this on-stage adaptation visually captures the economic anxiety of post-depression L.A., and the subsequent curdling of the American Dream. Throughout the performance, the tension builds as we learn more about L.A. and its inhabitants; Toeman reveals L.A.’s seedy underbelly both for its deceptions and its dark desires.

Interestingly, J.M. Cain’s plot is loosely based upon true-crime events of New York City in 1927, where a vivacious Ruth Snyder began an extramarital affair with corset salesman, Judd Gray. Together, they convinced her husband, Albert, to purchase an insurance policy, whereupon the pair planned to kill him, claiming a healthy pay-out. After seven failed murder attempts, they strangled Albert to death, staging it as a ‘burglary gone wrong’, before triggering the insurance’s double indemnity clause - claiming a $48,000 pay-out in the event of a violent act resulting in death (almost $900,000 in today’s money!).

Toeman’s production is much inspired by the psychological intensity of Greek tragedies; he reinvents Double Indemnity’s plot for an on-stage journey of unknowability, seduction, and irony. He does not allow his audience to feel distanced from his character's circumstances - he grabs his audience by the scruff of their necks, challenging us to face one question about our reality:

If no one was watching, how far would you go to get what you want?

Double Indemnity was at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall between Tuesday 10 - Saturday 14 February 2025.

trch.co.uk