Review: Over My Dead Body – Open Theatre

Words by Igor Tiago Ventura / Edited by Mia Stapleton

Over My Dead Body does not reinvent the murder mystery genre, but it skilfully utilises all its tools to deliver an engaging and entertaining theatrical experience. Written and directed by Chris Louridas, the play introduces a rich array of upper-class personas in its first act. While unravelling the murder mystery of the house servant Ioannis, it takes us on a journey through the dynamics of these characters and explores the comedic and problematic nature of their relationships.

From Agatha Christie’s successful novels to the box office juggernaut Knives Out, the murder-mystery remains widely popular. This genre’s appeal lies in its ability to engage the audience through the resolution of the mystery itself. The audience becomes hyper-aware of the characters’ words, actions, and motivations, investigating the story to determine who could be the perpetrator. In this mental inquiry, the audience inevitably becomes attentive not only to the mysterious crime but also to the characters surrounding it. This is precisely what happens in Over My Dead Body. Louridas introduces a multitude of characters with their own backstories and individual interpersonal dynamics. Unfortunately, due to the large cast and limited runtime, some characters do not receive the development needed to transcend their murder mystery stock types. Nevertheless, their dynamics and conversations become engaging, with standout performances from Evie Knight’s Sarah and Erin Gormley-Meehan’s Charlotte, both managing to showcase true complexity. Alongside them, Jonah O’Sullivan does an excellent job as Harry, driving the story forward with an engaging and compelling performance and stage presence. Developing such an array of characters and exploring their relationships within a tight timeframe is an extraneous demand, one which Over My Dead Body meets thanks to its talented cast and direction.

The show benefits from its use of comedy within darker and more serious themes. Lucy Hart’s portrayal of Ioannis is a marvellous example of utilising physicality within a non-speaking role to deliver a magnetic and comedically charged performance. The exaggerated physicality by the only working-class characters also cleverly comments on the physical demands of the rich onto those they deem as servants. However, throughout the second act, the comedy seems slightly misplaced, distracting from the central dynamics being explored and becoming a detriment to character exploration. Regardless, the balance of light and dark allows the play to explore and elaborate on its themes, providing a pleasant viewing experience.

Central themes of class, paranoia, and satirical social commentary are interesting and explored relatively well. The writing and performers utilise the murder-mystery genre to their advantage, delivering an exploration of these themes compellingly. Accusations that are instantly spat against each other showcase these characters’ self-inflicting paranoia. The interpersonal dynamics showcase Harry as the clearly respected benefactor to whom the others must respond and obey. When this clear social hierarchy is contested because Harry believes someone tried to poison him, the otherwise poised character becomes consumed with obsessive delusions that one of his long-time friends must be the culprit behind the crime. This highlights the fragility of the established social hierarchy within the microcosm of these fractured and flimsy friendships. When the play further explores these characters’ relations, we see how none seem happy. Their marriages are falling apart, their mental and physical health deteriorating, and ironically, the very system causing these issues is the same system they benefit from, allowing them to have grand parties and extravagant lifestyles. This leads to a climax of a brilliant physical altercation between Harry, and James (Billy West) with a simple yet effective usage of lighting and sound that showcases the lengths of madness to which their paranoia drives them. The final twist and the reveal of the murder are both anti-climactic and also a superb use of bathos to showcase the hypocrisy of the rich through the murder-mystery genre.

Overall, this is a very strong performance by an array of dedicated actors who, within one month, created a very enjoyable and engaging experience. Although some characters suffer from a lack of development and some of the comedy causes tonal issues that detract from the overall story, the final product remains one that utilises the murder mystery genre and its tropes to its advantage, enrolling its audience in a compelling manner with the interpersonal dynamics of these characters. A notable display of upper-class hypocrisy that leads to a great twist.

(Images: Feature by Open Theatre, Article image by Jiaqi Qian)