Duncan Harley

The unfaithful Margot – a splendid Sally Bretton, kills the hit-man hired by tennis-pro-husband Tony and heads to death row. There are sharp scissors involved. Enter Inspector Hubbard who, assisted by Margot’s lover Max, solves the crime and cheats the hangman. Well, truth is Hubbard got it wrong first time around but he eventually gets his bearings. Case solved, end of story, all live happily ever after. Well not quite. Dial M is one of those classic thrillers where we, the audience, are in on the perfect-murder plot from the very beginning. But, and all power to them, it takes ages for the police to catch on. If only they had asked us at the start. But that’s not how these things work. This is a four-hander which means you won’t ever see hit-man Captain Lesgate and DCI Hubbard on stage at the same time since both are ably played by Christopher Harper. Of the two, Hubbard is the most believable and has the unenviable task of sorting out who did what to whom and how. Le...

The news that Glasgow Caledonian University has a new chancellor naturally fills me with Aberdonian pride. Not that I am from the granite city, or indeed the fair city of Glasgow; but I am sure that the Eurhythmics lady will do a sterling job and I wish her good luck.  I met the woman in some far off year or so at Haddo House. She had fund-raised something about the then Arts Trust and was keen to promote the struggling theatre venue. I recall that she gave a short speech before advising listeners that “Yooose bastards had better not fuck it all up and I’m telling you you'd better not!” – or something splendidly similar. It was a long time ago and I may have gotten one expletive mixed up with another. Some Royals who were present for the Lennox speech left early in a fit of embarrassment despite the promise of champagne. In some ways, Annie’s Haddo tirade reminded me of Taggart star Mark McManus’s appearance at a long-forgotten trade fair in the Aviemore complex some decad...