The Daughter of Time
Rating: ★★
Venue: Charing Cross Theatre, London
Cast: Hafsa Abassi, Sanya Adegbola, Janna Fox, Noah Huntley, Rachel Pickup, Rob Pomfret and Harrison Sharpe

London, 1950.  Inspector Alan Grant, laid up in hospital, investigates the alleged crimes of Richard III and the murder of the Princes in the Tower as a “cold case file.”  What begins as a distraction becomes an urgent mission, as Grant tangles with two scheming Shakespearean actors, a couple of opinionated nurses, his own sceptical deputy, and a lovesick young American historical researcher to solve his case.   And along the way, he might just solve the mystery of his own heart.  

Part detective story, part history lesson, part romantic-comedy, but mostly a mind-numbing experience at the theatre. The Daughter of Time, which is currently being shown at the Charing Cross Theatre is a play based on the classic novel of the same name by Josephine Tey. As a massive reader myself, I won't be quick to add this novel to my reading list any time soon!

The play is set in London in the 1950's, and follows inspector Alan Grant (Rob Pomfret) who's laid up in a hospital bed and decides he wants to investigate the alleged crimes of Richard III and the murder of Richard's nephews (the Princes in the Tower) as a cold case file. What begins as a distraction from his time in hospital, it quickly becomes an obsession and hyperfixation.

Grant enlists help from his two scheming Shakespearean actors friends, a couple of opiniated nurses, his own sceptical deputy and lovesick young American historical researcher to solve this case. As I found it difficult to understand the interest in solving a murder that happened over 500 years ago, it was incredibly difficult to connect to the story as an audience member. This lead to me continually checking my watch throughout the 2 hrs 45 minutes runtime, which did feel much longer than necessary. 

Even though this story and production wasn’t for me, one thing's for certain, the cast were brilliant and really brought their characters to life. You can clearly see how much effort they had put into their performances, and they made the best of the lacking script from M. Kilburg Reedy.

While The Daughter of Time didn't work for me, others around me did seem to enjoy and I certainly think a little research before the show would help the enjoyment of the show massively.

You can book tickets to The Daughter of Time, here.

Review by Sarah

**photo credit: Manuel Harlan**