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Double Indemnity single work   drama   crime   - 2 hours 20 minutes
Adaptation of Double Indemnity James M. Cain , 1943 single work novella
Issue Details: First known date: 2016... 2016 Double Indemnity
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'One of the greatest crime novels of our times is given a brilliant stage adaptation by Tom Holloway with direction by Sam Strong.

'Insurance agent Walter Huff has nosed around the business long enough to smell a scam, so when he meets Phyllis Nirdlinger to talk about her husband’s insurance coverage he gets a perfumed whiff of trouble. But she has a persuasive way of putting things. Can’t a wife fix a little security for herself? After all, a beloved husband can suffer a fatal accident just as easily as an honest guy can fall hard for a dame who’s no good.

'The LA sunshine throws plenty of dark shadows in James M Cain’s sensational thriller novels of the thirties and forties, of which this steamy tale of murder and desire is the undoubted masterpiece.

'Cain’s novel was famously adapted for the screen, and Tom Holloway’s smart-mouthed stage adaptation now breathes new life into one of the greatest crime narratives of our times. With Sam Strong (The Speechmaker) providing the hard boiled direction, and a stellar cast including Leon Ford (Private Lives), Claire van der Boom (Sisters of War), Jessica Tovey (Wonderland), and Lachlan Woods (North by Northwest), Double Indemnity promises audiences at least twice the ordinary payout in passion and intrigue.' (Production summary)

Production Details

  • Presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company. Performed at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse : 30 May - 2 July 2016.

    Director: Sam Strong.

    Set Designer: Andrew Bailey.

    Costume Designer: Esther Marie Hayes.

    Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson.

    Composer: Kelly Ryall.

    Voice and Dialect Coach: Leith McPherson.

    Assistant Director: Stephen Nicolazzo.

    Cast: Leon Ford, Peter Kowitz, Richard Piper, Edwina Samuels, Jessica Tovey, Claire van der Boom, and Lachlan Woods.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Melbourne Theatre Productions Show the Difference 40 Years of Feminism Make Vanessa Badham , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 7 July 2016;

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
'Double Indemnity offers female archetypes, Trilogy is a feminist masterwork and Quippings has been called ‘crip burlesque’ ...'
Theatrical Form of Noir Classic Lacking Light and Shade Cameron Woodhead , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 June 2016; (p. 26)

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
Noirishing Chris Boyd , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 6 June 2016; (p. 14)

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
Noirishing Chris Boyd , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 6 June 2016; (p. 14)

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
Theatrical Form of Noir Classic Lacking Light and Shade Cameron Woodhead , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 June 2016; (p. 26)

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
Melbourne Theatre Productions Show the Difference 40 Years of Feminism Make Vanessa Badham , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 7 July 2016;

— Review of Double Indemnity Tom Holloway , 2016 single work drama
'Double Indemnity offers female archetypes, Trilogy is a feminist masterwork and Quippings has been called ‘crip burlesque’ ...'
Last amended 19 Nov 2018 10:45:52
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