“Innocent until proven guilty”. We like to think that we live in a just society. That in the eyes of the law, truth and justice work hand-in-hand. But for Lily, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In Cetus, we follow Michael, a promising but inexperienced part-time detective, as he agrees to solve a case that has kept Lily in custody for the past 2 years. With nothing but circumstantial evidence, ECHO has been keeping Lily in Cetus,the belly of the whale,under suspicion of murdering O,the most important figure in the company. With only 30 days left until she’s released, Michael is hired not to prove Lily’s innocence, but to find enough evidence to properly incarcerate her. But the key to solving the mystery lies in details overlooked and left out to dry.

The play makes excellent use of its staging, with tables and chairs being moved around the stage as scenes are constructed and reconstructed throughout the investigation, allowing the audience and characters to recreate the events leading up to murder. Lighting is used cleverly to establish setting and tone, from the cold white lights of Lily’s cell to the angry reds of blaring alarms to the hopeful artificiality of a green corporate party. The stylish technical production worked hand-in-hand with the emotional acting of the characters, effectively building tension as the days count down towards Lily’s release. The interrogation scenes were particularly impressive as the characters (and their actors) beautifully recreated drunken stupors, alcohol-fuelled outbursts and awkward pleasantries. No detail is wasted and even when I was sure that I had cracked the case, when all the pieces fell into place and the truth came to light, I was more than happy to be wrong.

A distinctly modern noir, Cetus is a classic of the detective genre and will have you gripped from start to finish.