Trap for a Lonely Man

by Robert Thomas

One of the more popular plays by the French playwright Robert Thomas (1927-1989).

Considered a comedy thriller, it all starts when, while on their honeymoon Daniel Corban's wife disappears for a few day only to reappear. Howeve Corban claims the woman who has appeared is not his wife...

Genres: Plays, Crime, Theatre

77 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Makenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this play because I’m about to be IN IT! can’t wait to gaslight a man for two whole acts

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ESPAÑOL: Es la segunda vez que veo representar esta obra, en el archivo de Estudio-1, disponible en YouTube. Afortunadamente no me acordaba de nada, porque así el final inesperado me cogió por sorpresa.

En un chalet de vacaciones, un hombre a quien su esposa ha abandonado y que la hace buscar, recibe la visita de un sacerdote joven y de una mujer desconocida que dice ser su esposa. Ambos se comportan de manera sospechosa, y consiguen que el protagonista parezca un loco ante el comisario de policía.

ENGLISH: This is the second time I've watched this play, in the RTVE archives, available in YouTube. Fortunately I didn't remember anything, so the unexpected ending was a surprise for me.

In a holiday chalet, a man who is searching for his wife, who has left him, receives a visit from a young priest and an unknown woman who claims to be his wife. Their behavior is suspicious, and they manage to make the protagonist appear to be a madman in front of the police commissioner.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember this play had a pretty good run in the 60s, but it seems either rather dated or fixed in a timeless and rather dull whodunit gyre.

Daniel Corban has lost his wife whom he married three months ago: she walked out of their Chamonix chalet, and never came back. The police come to help him and reassure him. So does a priest and a young woman who claims to be his wife. But it is evident to Daniel that they are conspiring to bump him off and claim his inheritance. More than that you do not need to know before you read the play.

There are well managed twists and turns, some moments of 'high drama', and a denouement that is rather too contrived, I think. Nevertheless, it will most probably have kept everyone watching.

It's a challenging role for the actor playing Corban - again, I can't really say why (spoiler), but it is!

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man's wife disappears after three months of marriage. Within days, a woman arrives to the house, swearing to be his missing wife returned – but the man doesn't recognise her. Is he mad? Or is she lying? It's claustrophobic in tone, more than a simple whodunnit, with much of the tension hinging on the central femme fatale. I picked it up because the Chinese blockbuster Lost in the Stars is adapted from it.

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un poco empujado para llegar a dos estrellas.

Estrenada en 1960, hoy en día la obra teatral resulta poco convincente y algo ingenua, a pesar de las vueltas que da el thriller. En todo caso, una obra para pasar el rato.

Una versión de Televisora Española puede verse en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as1U3...

[Kacper Koźlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympatyczna, króciutka opowiastka kryminalna. Nie spodziewałam się zaskoczenia, ale wszak jestem debilem. Niewystarczająco mnie wciągnęła przez, równy czasem, debilizm bohaterów. Za darmo to uczciwa cena żeby taką chrupnąć.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(1969 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation produced by Anne Freed and directed by Henry Diffenthal.)

The connoisseur that I am, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't see the twist coming. 😪 Overall, it wasn't a bad way to spend an hour, but the play is more simplistic than I anticipated. Trap For a Lonely Man is a mystery play that misses out on exploring the psychology and social commentary that were waiting to be uncovered.

[Alexey Averyanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Очень классный детектив, финал необычный.