Theatre Calgary’s latest production of Dial M for Murder is both homage and reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 masterpiece, with more than a few devious twists and mind games to make it fresh and original.

Such is the audience reaction thus far that preview showings of the play have left audience members wondering if they had gone crazy during its two acts.

But that’s exactly the way that director Jillian Keiley wants audiences to feel—just a little like their senses have been a little betrayed by what they have just witnessed on stage.

“It’s deliciously fun,” she said.

Working from a reimagined adaptation by Jeffery Hatcher from the original work by Frederick Nott, Keiley said that all of the gaslighting, blackmail, and of course, descent into murder remain, but the tension and threats of the post-war setting have been ramped up from the original.

“The way Act One works, it’s all kind of, you’re cheering for Tony… you know, it’s like just a terrible, delicious villain. And then all Act Two, you’re cheering for Margot or Maxine. The perspective shift in the play is actually really interesting in how they play with that,” she said.

“I thought, how can we translate that? I watched the film, and I watched the 1986 film, of course, and I did love the 1954 Hitchcock one. I thought, it’s so interesting what he does… what can we do in the theatre that allows for the audience to see the show from different perspectives?”

Set designer Anton DeGroot and lighting designer Itai Erdal to help make audiences question what it is exactly they’ve just seen through a few tricks of their own.

While much of the original Hitchcock version owes to it being originally planned for a release in the burgeoning 1950s 3D cinema, the demands of the theatre meant a far different design.

DeGroot designed a set that continually shifts throughout the production, at times breaking the fourth wall but always ensuring that the audience has a fresh perspective on how the play unfolds.

“It’s been a real treat working with these [sets]. They’re so good,” said Keiley.

The lighting shifts throughout the play, putting different colours on each scene and also working to highlight the sometimes subtle clues that guide the audience along.

Keiley said that was homage to another film, Hero, starring Jet Li, which used set colours effectively to beguile audiences as to the true intentions of the storyteller.

“It’s been really, really fun to work on that concept and the design with this group of actors who really didn’t run away from that at all. They were like, ‘Oh, I know what to do, you know, what could we use here,'” she said.

“We needed a painting for the back wall, and there was the stage manager, and she said, ‘Ophelia.’ The Ophelia painting because it’s green. It’s a dead woman. It’s she’s drowning. She was gaslit by Hamlet. Like, there’s so many beautiful, little easter eggs for the smarties in the house.”

A murderers row of a cast

The cast of Theatre Calgary veterans Tyrell Crews (Blithe Spirit, The Mousetrap), Emily Dallas (A Christmas Carol, Beaches: The Musical), and Stafford Perry (A Streetcar Named Desire, Enron) have been joined by Vancouver actors Oliva Hutt (Hunting Matthew Nichols) and Shekar Paleja (Superman and Lois) as part of a co-production with the Arts Club Theatre Company.

“I’ve worked here a couple of times and brought in people from Calgary in my career over the years, and you just can’t beat them. I mean, if I was anywhere in probably the world and had a role that was a period piece like this, you can’t not give it to Tyrell Crews, like he can’t be beat in that. He kind of belongs in that world more than 2025,” said Keiley.

“Emily Dallas is astounding, all, always of course Stafford Perry, who’s a star here. The bar is pretty high.”

But so too is the bar to put on a murder mystery in Calgary, she said, given that Calgary audiences have Vertigo Theatre.

“Probably the most sophisticated murder mystery audience in Canada is here because of Vertigo. So, this audience understands how those plays work, and they understand what to watch for, and they understand how to enjoy that kind of play. I think that’s a really exciting audience play for, because they’re not going to accept something weak or they won’t take the pablum,” said Keiley.

“They want something that’s going to challenge them. They’re a smart audience, and they want to figure it out, and they’re going to figure it out. It’s going to be great.”

Dial M for Murder runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 26 at Theatre Calgary on the Max Bell Stage at the Werklund Centre. For more details, and tickets, see theatrecalgary.com.

Photos from Dial M for Murder