Leeds Arts Centre’s production of The Moonstone, an adaptation of one of the first whodunnits, will transport audiences to the Victorian era, as members of the Verinder family and their allies grapple with the mysterious disappearance of a priceless jewel.
With twists and turns aplenty, this adaptation by Robert Kauzlaric gets to the heart of Wilkie Collins’ famous novel, balancing a genuine love for the era, with an understanding of the societal changes happening at the time.
Following a massacre in India, a British colonel plunders a sacred artefact from a temple, the brilliant yellow diamond that sits within the head of an ancient moon god statue. This cursed diamond is passed from the colonel to his sister, Rachel Verinder, which kickstarts a chain of events that will lead to treachery, death, the theft of the diamond, and the potential undoing of an entire family.
Director Laurie Toczek hopes that audiences familiar with the text will “enjoy becoming reacquainted with it” and that those coming to the story fresh will be “will be enthralled by the twists and turns of the masterfully constructed plot.”
The Moonstone is one of the great mystery novels, and this adaptation captures that suspense and intrigue well. Stu Gordon, who plays the diligent butler Gabriel Betteredge, explains that audiences will “have to keep their wits about you as you’re watching it”. Matt Lorentz, who plays an adventurous friend to the Verinder family, Murthwaite, agrees, explaining how he loves “the twists and turns of the play. You don’t know what’s really happening until the very end”.
This production will be on the main stage of The Carriageworks, and will use a specific, and well honed, minimalist style to capture the breadth of the adaptation which travels from India, to country homes in Yorkshire, via deadly quicksand beaches, to the heart of London, and through the seedy streets around a dock.
Tickets are available from the Leeds Ticket Hub and, before performances, from the Carriageworks Box Office in the Electric Press building on Millennium Square. OFFER: FOR NEXT FULL MOON! On 3 July, between 12 noon and 11.59pm, all standard tickets for 5th – 8th July can be purchased for £10!
Please book your tickets online, or by telephoning 0113 376 0318 between 12 noon and 5pm, Wednesday to Saturday.
The Moonstone – Carriageworks Theatre
https://www.leedsartscentre.org.uk/
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