Getting down to The Business of Murder on the Eastbourne stage

The play is Richard Harris' psychological thriller The Business of Murder, and Tabs Productions (Who Killed Agatha Christie and most recently Murdered to Death) are bringing it to The Devonshire Park, Eastbourne from Wednesday, April 30-Saturday, May 3.

John Goodrum is playing the policeman, Inspector Hallett.

“The play was a great success for Richard Harris in the West End for many years in the 1980s, and it's set early in the 1980s in a slightly seedy flat in London. This rather mysterious gentleman Mr Stone has invited my character, the policeman, to come round and see him because he is worried about his son who is getting involved in the world of drugs. But once he gets there, the son never turns up. And in a separate scene a TV writer who writes crime stories is also invited round to the flat by the mysterious Mr Stone to talk to his dying wife about a detective story that the wife has written.”

It turns out that the policeman and the writer know each other…

Hallett is a great character to play: “Underneath it all he is quite intelligent but he comes across as a bit of a Sweeney-type rough guy. He doesn't suffer fools gladly and he is quite happy to use what he sees as his freedoms as a policeman to indulge in various affairs. He is actually a bit of a wide boy.

“But it is quite light-hearted really – though it turns out very nasty at the end! But there is a lot of humour in there and it really does twist and turn. You never really know where it's going. It's like these modern thrillers by which I mean the 1970s! Is not an Agatha Christie whodunnit. It is much more of an Anthony Shaffer Sleuth-type ‘What is happening?’ play. It is more about finding out what is going on.”

And that's a fun challenge for an actor: “As an actor you have got to make sure that everything that you say is in the moment. You can't give anything away. Obviously you know the whole plot but however much research you've done, you can't give any clue to the audience really. You've got to be living it at the same time as they are. It is the art of holding back in a way. It is about teasing people!”

Eastbourne is the first date for the show: “And then it goes to Basingstoke and then it is part of the classic thriller season at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham this summer.

“The show is directed by my other half Karen who has this theatre company called Tabs.”

In the meantime John has been on the road with his own company called Rumpus with The Ripper Files.

John has worked as an actor in theatres nationwide. Parts he has played include Marc in Art, Neville in Neville's Island, Adam in Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Malcolm in Bedroom Farce, Donald Duck in Blue Remembered Hills, Bob in Pack Of Lies, Jerry in Betrayal, Deeley in Old Times, Michael Starkwedder in The Unexpected Guest, Jeremy Warrender in Spider's Web, Danny in Night Must Fall, Fancourt Babberley in Charley's Aunt, Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion, Scrub in The Beaux' Stratagem and Bottom in A Midsummer's Night Dream. John played the title role in a nationwide tour of Sherlock Holmes – A Study in Fear!, Norman Barthlomew in Anthony Shaffer's comedy thriller Murderer and Robert in Stage Struck at the Theatre Royal Nottingham.