"Veronica's Room" by Ravenshead Theatre Group.

Ravenshead Village Hall.

A chilling mystery thriller which explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, madness and murder. "Veronica's Room" is a play by Ira Levin, best known for "Rosemary's Baby". A middle-aged Irish couple, John and Maureen Mackey, bring a young couple, Susan and Larry, to their Boston home where the Mackeys are caretakers. Susan and Larry have recently begun to date, and the Mackeys approached them at a restaurant due to Susan's resemblance to a dead woman, Veronica. 

The Mackeys explain that Veronica's elderly, senile sister, Cissie, is now their charge, and Susan agrees to dress up as Veronica in an effort to bring Cissie a sense of closure. The year is 1973, but Cissie believes it to be 1935. Larry and the Mackeys leave Susan alone in Veronica's preserved bedroom to change into a period outfit. But all is not as it first seemed when the Mackeys return to the room!

I've seen the play only once before and really liked the intense darkness of the story. With this version, not only did I see a thriller that grew menace from a small seed into a massive tree of menace, but I saw four actors; three of which I'd had the pleasure of seeing previously and the fourth a new face to me, but I saw a cast that topped anything I'd seen by them before, and a Director who nailed his debut in that role.

I'm going to try and not go into too much detail because it may give away some of the things that build and maintain the atmosphere, as well as the twists; a couple that I'd forgotten from when I saw it previously.

Christopher Mercer (The Man) I know from performing in pantos and comic roles. In this role I saw an actor who surprised me by doing something that I'd not seen him do before; serious acting. The ongoing menace, and the several twists with The Man will keep you on the edge of your seat. Chris looked very different at the start to his appearance in the second act, and there's a reason for that, which I won't give away. This is a whole new Chris I witnessed on stage and shows the extent of his acting skills as he puts everything into this role, and that's quite frightening!

Mandy Buckley (The Woman) is another actor I've seen on several occasions, and like Chris this role is very different to what I've seen Mandy perform. The intensity and chill factor she provides as The Woman is quite unnerving, especially in the second act. And that is just the start of this unhinged character.

Daniel Andrews (The Young Man), the third actor I've seen on stage before. The Young Man, Larry is on a date with Susan prior to going back to the house, but what happens to Larry after he is asked to wait downstairs? These three actors have surpassed anything that I've seen them do in the past with these roles, even playing The Monster in "Frankenstein", where I felt he had topped at that time his previous roles.

Rachel Gascoigne (The Girl) is a name I've heard before; this is my first viewing of this very talented young actor. There's a naturalness in her acting, nothing was forced. It didn't feel like I was watching an actor performing, it was like looking through a keyhole to a private room, spying on someone. And that accent made me think that Rachel was American; again, very natural sounding, Rachel is a real find for the local acting community and when you discover that this is her first leading role, that ease of character performance confirms to me that she is a natural performer.

Directed by Rob Hurst. Rob is normally being directed, but this new foray into directing plays, and one like this with such intensity is proof that the local theatre scene has been missing out on a very talented Director with Rob. Everything about this production indicates that a lot of hard work has been invested in it. It's not easy to maintain that menacing feeling, that cold atmosphere and the terror played out between these four characters, but, even though I've seen the play before, I was completely hooked and was hypnotically reeled in. Rob "The Postman" delivers again!

Sound Design is by Sarah Tryner, and what I liked about this was the warning that was issued by the creepy music stabs, just before something significant happens. It was just like a film and it got the hackles on your arms and neck standing to attention.

Lighting Design is by Iain Walton and such is the subtlety of the lighting in "Veronica's Room", you feel that all the lighting is provided by the lamps on stage that were manually operated by the cast. This also threw shadows all over, again adding to that eerie atmosphere.

The Set Design is also down to Rob Hurst. Finding a set of furniture that resembles the sort from 1935 could not have been easy, but that's what we get on stage, completing the musty uneasiness of it all.

If you like thrillers that make you feel uneasy, this is definitely the one to see. Even though I'd seen a production of this last year, which was my introduction to the play, this Director and Cast ramped up that terror, especially when you realise the fate that lay ahead. And on top of that the several twists will have your jaw open until the final bows.

And a final bit of advice. Remember when your Mother told you not to talk to strangers when you were younger? Keep that excellent advice in mind, and take a friend with you to see what, and who is inside "Veronica's Room"

"Veronica's Room" will be open to view until Saturday 20 May.