The Riddle of the Sphinx (Inside No. 9) was characterised by Pemberton as a thriller in the style of Anthony Shaffer's 1970 play "Sleuth", while Shearsmith identified the episode as particularly theatrical, in the style of "Sleuth" and Ira Levin's 1978 play "Deathtrap". BBC executives, according to Shearsmith, saw the episode as a cross between "Sleuth" and Willy Russell's 1980 play "Educating Rita" that read as if it had been authored by psychopaths. The executive producer Jon Plowman suggested that the first half of the episode plays out like a radio play. The word-play and tea-drinking in this part of the episode are, in the writers' opinion, very
Simon Bamford has also designed and directed several international tours including "The Big Day" in Sofia, Qatar and Dubai as well as "Educating Rita" in Kuala Lumpur. In 2004 he took a production of "Shirley Valentine" to Karachi to help raise money for a new school. He has been a theatre reviewer for "The Stage" newspaper since 2006 and is guest speaker at film conventions in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Bottrop, Münster, Orlando, Boston, London and New York. Simon Bamford Simon Bamford (born 22 May 1961 in Bedford) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is well known for playing the