Winter 2010 entertainment - Deathtrap

As the winter months approach and festival season becomes a distant memory, we'll be recommending things to do to distract you through the dark evenings, from music to theatre to comedy.

First up is the new West End revival of Deathtrap...

What's it about?

A murder-mystery/comedy-thriller, Deathtrap follows struggling play writer Sidney Bruhl, desperate for a hit, and talented young writer Clifford Anderson.

Who's in it?

Best known for his role as Jesse in E4's Glee, Broadway musical star Jonathan Groff takes the role of Clifford, while the role of Sidney's wife Myra Bruhl is played by Claire Skinner, star of BBC One's Outnumbered. The cast also includes theatre veterans Simon Russell Beale and Estelle Parsons.

Who's it by?

The play was written in 1978 by Ira Levin, who also wrote The Stepford Wives and Rosemary’s Baby.

Where's it on?

Catch the play at the Noël Coward Theatre in London, near Covent Garden, from September 2010.

Where do you buy tickets?

Tickets are available online at deathtraptheplay.com or from the Box Office on 0844 482 5140, priced from £19.50 to £49.50.

What's it like?

With just five characters and one set (albeit a lavishly-designed one) allowing the six-act story plenty of room to breathe, only very rarely dragging, Deathtrap is gripping from the start and refreshingly unpredictable, with "laughs in all the right places", not to mention a couple of genuine jump-scares.