"The Tell Tale Heart" by Rumpus Theatre Company.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Imagine you have committed a murder. Imagine someone heard the scream and the police come calling. They're friendly enough, but will your conscience betray you? And what is that noise in your ears that grows ever louder? Is it the beating of your own guilty heart? Or is it the heart of the man you've just killed?

Based on Edgar Allan Poe's Victorian supernatural thriller, this production is by John Goodrum, whose name will be familiar to fans of the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season plays that frequent the Theatre Royal every year.

This two hander murder mystery is not one that I have seen before, so I didn't know the story and decided not to look into the story before viewing it tonight, just to get the full first time impact.

The story is set at the home of Roderick Bounty, who takes in lodgers, which is just as well because the town's inn is full. Clarry Straven, a clerk to a respectable firm of solicitors, is sent to draw up an inventory of Prospect Manor while the owner is away. 

John Goodrum plays Roderick Bounty, and doubles up as Inspector Morgan, who is dispatched to the house after reports of shouting and screaming are heard. 

Bounty, from the off, gives you an uneasy feeling. He seems to choose his words very carefully with long pauses in between and what is wrong with Bounty's eye because Straven keeps drawing our attention to it. There is a big clue, dropped very subtly, not long after Straven is shown to his room, but is so subtle that only after the play, does that clue fall like a lead weight into place.

Morgan, at least, explains how the local inn got its' name, so that is that mystery solved, but listen carefully to what he is saying to Straven, although if you're like me, it won't fall into place until after the play where you have time to dissect what you have seen and heard.

David Martin plays Straven, and just watch for the gradual change in the character after residing at Bounty's house! The uneasy and nervous reaction at his first meeting with Bounty quickly escalated into something very different, especially after a couple of nightmares.

Directed by Karen Henson, this production really drives you to the edge of your seat due to the oppressive atmosphere created. The tension, a lot of the time, is caused by the pauses in between Bounty's speeches, almost like the unease caused on a first date when you don't know what to say to fill in the embarrassing gaps, and those gaps can feel a lot longer than they are. Karen knows exactly what she is doing, and she does it extremely well.

The set design is by John Goodrum, and it won't come as a surprise that it's quite dark on stage, with the lighting moving from specific areas of the stage to highlight the sections that John wants you to focus on. I could not decide if the drapes at the back of the set were made to look like a silhouetted head, shoulders and upper body, silently overlooking what was happening on stage, or was it the shape of a wine bottle; something that also plays a part in this production. You make up your own mind!

The sound design is by David Gilbrook, who as anyone who has frequented any of the Classic Thrillers by Tabs Productions will testify, is a sound wizard, creates a creepy, atmospheric sound scape of effects and music, giving that uneasy feeling. The increasing heartbeats, the sudden thundercracks, the pelting rain, the wind even sounded cold and evil. All of this makes you glad that you're not watching this on your own!

It can be quite a wordy experience in parts, but come on, let's face, who doesn't like a good old fashioned horror story where you have to listen to the story as well as watch, and didn't someone famous once say that "words are mightier than the sword"? Well, these words have a mighty unnerving affect on a listener.

This play has plenty of bite, and if you like a play that give you chills, with a twist attached, then you do not want to miss out on this gruesome Gothic horror.

"The Tell Tale Heart" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Thursday 4 April.

Photos by Simon Marper.