Original Theatre has announced the world premiere stage tour of Murder at Midnight, a brand-new thriller by acclaimed playwright Torben Betts.
Following the success of Murder in the Dark, Betts returns with a chilling and darkly comic new play, directed by Philip Franks (The Mousetrap, Murder in the Dark).
The production stars Jason Durr (Heartbeat, Casualty), Susie Blake (Victoria Wood as Seen on TV, Coronation Street), and Max Bowden (Birdsong, EastEnders), with further casting to be announced.
Murder at Midnight is set on New Year’s Eve in rural Kent, where Jonny “The Cyclops” throws a party that spirals into chaos. As fireworks light up the sky, tarot cards predict doom, and a killer lurks in the house.
Max Bowden said: “I’m excited to begin working on this ambitious new dark comedy from a writer and a team I admire greatly. It’s a new challenge and an exciting shift for my career, and I’m looking forward to working with Original Theatre again.”
Director Philip Franks added: “Murder at Midnight is a dark and often very funny thriller set in the luxury Kent mansion of a one-eyed drug dealer, pig farmer and possible gangland killer, Jonny ‘The Cyclops’. At midnight on New Year’s Eve his past is catching up with him fast. It’s Feydeau rewritten by Tarantino.”
The UK tour kicks off at Derby Theatre on 5 September 2025 and will visit Birmingham Rep, Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre, Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Malvern Theatres, Southend’s Palace Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, Cardiff’s New Theatre, Fareham Live and Churchill Theatre Bromley. More dates are expected to be announced.
Produced by the award-winning Original Theatre, Murder at Midnight follows their acclaimed productions of The Mirror Crack’d, Birdsong, and Murder in the Dark.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
