There’s a good idea behind Thomas Carruthers’ play: a legal drama that focuses on the lawyers’ office rather than the courtroom. Professional rivalry, sordid secrets and three glamorous women give it a strangely old-fashioned feel. Overall, it’s an entertaining piece of work.
Carruthers packs in an excess of detail, but his effort reaps rewards. The slow build adds charisma to his part in the piece as successful criminal defence lawyer Art Carmichael. We hear plenty about his colleague and his neuroses, and William Leggetter makes this role interesting. As for the women, three strong performances from Maeve-Anne Allen, Amy Cash and Rhian Holmes help to disguise weaker characterisation. Allen’s chemistry is great, Holmes’ Southern belle is effective and Cash brings a pleasing subtlety to her role.
Art’s wife is a former client who may have killed her father; his new client admits she murdered her husband; and we are left to wonder whether men’s ambitious intern really be as sweet as she seems. The women aren’t far from femme fatales. Carruthers attempts to solve this by bringing in modern considerations about abuse, which raises the stakes considerably. The performances become passionate, but the dialogue isn’t always convincing.
The mix of hard-boiled drama and sleaze is a touch too much. It’s as if the 1950s got very rude – interesting, if odd. Although the play is set in the 1980s, Carruthers clearly doesn’t care much for the decade (I don’t blame him), and some of his ideas about the period’s social mores are surely off. That said, there’s plenty of atmosphere, some humour, and a cast that clearly enjoys its roles.
A bigger problem is the lack of intrigue. The show is too much of a slow burn. The script needs cuts, and director Jazz Sewsanker needs to speed things up. The added music also needs dropping, especially when characters are speaking. As the men in the show grow increasingly paranoid, Conflict of Interest becomes a competition for victimhood. Who you are meant to feel for might be a little obvious – and sympathy for Art is a bit too hard to find. But as a study in delusion and victimisation, the play offers interesting twists, capably handled.
Until 3 October 2026