The Daughter of Time
This new play based on a novel by Josephine Tey is making its debut at Charing Cross Theatre, it tells of a modern police officer’s investigation into the alleged crimes on King Richard III. The original novel has been voted number 1 on the list of Top 100 Crime Novels of all time, but does the stage adaptation live up to that accolade? Sadly I don’t think so.
Set in 1950 we meet Inspector Alan Grant who is in hospital recovering from a broken leg, he is immobile and becoming increasingly bored, his glamorous actress friend Marta attempts to help alleviate the boredom by providing some pictures that might inspire something in Grant. When he comes across a portrait of Richard III he decides to begin an investigation into what he believes to be a miscarriage of justice throughout history. He ropes in nurses, friends and colleagues to help him complete his work, though I fail to see the real point of this being the basis of the story.
The book by Kilburg Reedy is packed full of history, though at times I felt I was back in school struggling to pay attention listening to my history teacher explain the convoluted family tree of previous royals. I would have liked to see more of the relationships built in the play and less lengthy sections about history.
The design feels accurate for the 1950’s setting, though the choice to have the hospital bed, in which Grant spends 80% of the play, set so far back into the stage means we fail to really connect with the actors before us. Actors are often forced to deliver their lines upstage meaning we lose the meaning and emotion within the words. It is only towards the end of the play that we see any real movement and use of the space, but it is too little too late and the audience never truly connect with the piece.
Jenny Eastop’s direction has given the play a feel of a quaint, 1950’s Sunday afternoon TV drama, it’s a little slow, not overly dramatic and all comes together nicely in the end. The scene changes are accompanied by lovely incidental music but these could be shortened, with a running time of 3 hours there is possibly no need for so many ‘twee’ moments.
The only truly enjoyable thing here were the performances, the actors do very well breathing life into this play. Rob Pomfret as Alan Grant is perfectly gruff and cold, warming slowly over the course of the piece. Rachel Pickup was a delight as Marta, eventual love interest of Alan, so beautifully strong and inviting and her fun dynamic with Noah Huntley as thespian Nigel Templeton is charming . Janna Fox is a standout as no nonsense history buff Nurse Darrol, her northern charm shines through, along with Hafsa Abbasi as Nurse Ingham who is perfectly excitable and light comic relief. Harrison Sharpe has an infectious quality in his performance as American journalist Brent Carradine. He is sharp, witty and overall hilarious.
This show was reviewed on the 25th July 2025 at the Charing Cross Theatre, London where it runs until the 13th September 2025. Tickets available here: Charing Cross Theatre
Review written by Rosie Browne
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Photo credit : Manuel Harlan
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