The Bickford Theatre presents this two-character psychological mystery.
By: Stuart Duncan
Dead Certain is a two-character psychological mystery drama that has achieved extraordinary popularity both in Britain and Australia, but may be a little bit too literate for American audiences. A lot of thinking is required and there’s not much blood and gore. The show is closing the current season at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown, which is tucked neatly within the Morris Museum.
Elizabeth, a playwright, is confined to a wheelchair and has hired an actor, Michael, to read a play that she is in the midst of writing. He, of course, is interested in learning as much about the character he is reading as possible; she seems more interested in keeping him off balance and therefore improvising. She also apparently knows much about his background, both as an actor and as a person. As they read, it becomes obvious that she has incorporated material within the script that she couldn’t possibly have known in advance.
In a program note, Bickford Artistic Director Eric Hafen, who directed this work, mentions that he has been in communication with playwright Marcus Lloyd, specifically about the clash of free will versus predestination. Certainly some of the play can be considered in this light, but it is not necessary, either emotionally or intellectually. It merely adds yet another interesting turn of plot.
The work naturally requires a pair of actors who nudge each other toward actions and reactions. Liz Zazzi, who plays Elizabeth, suggests a stoked bank of smoldering fires beneath a cool exterior. Clark Carmichael, who plays Michael, is more blatant and on the surface. The natural result is that whatever Ms. Zazzi says is open to suspicion and what Michael says is accepted without question. And that is precisely the trap into which the author expects you to fall. The challenges are far greater than expected. It is a general rule of reviewers never to give away plot detours, so one can say no more.
Bill Motyka has given us a splendid living room in a house somewhere in the London countryside and has done his own lighting. There is much activity with the building, and by next season the theater will have its own separate entry and courtyard. That season, incidentally, will include Mass AppealCatch Me If You Can, a fun who-dun-it; Hot ‘n Cole, a Cole Porter revue; and Chapter Two, one of Neil Simon’s best.
Dead Certain continues at the Bickford Theatre, Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, through June 4. Performances: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $30, $25 seniors/museum members, $15 students. For information, call (973) 971-3706. On the Web: www.morrismuseum.org

