Snake in the Grass

I don't really approve of a set getting a round of applause before it's done anything, but the Pitlochry audience clearly disagreed with me as the curtain parted on an overgrown garden.

The set has now performed fully so let me add my applause for Adrian Rees' perfectly realised ruined summerhouse, vegetation-filled tennis court and distressed garden furniture. And also for the way that several items on that set take on ghostly lives of their own as macabre events unfold in the sinister wilderness.

This is Ayckbourn in a 'scare the pants off the audience' mode. If I tell you that the appearance of something as everyday as a tennis ball caused a scream in the audience you will understand that this production draws nerves so tight that it succeeds admirably in doing just that.

Following her father's death, Annabel returns from Australia only to be confronted by a stranger, Alice, threatening blackmail. She accuses her sister, Miriam, of her father's murder. So far so straightforwardly domestic thriller. But there seem to be mysteriously ghostly events occurring too, as well as dark painful secrets in the sisters' pasts.

When Miriam melodramatically takes things into her own hands events start the spiral towards an ending of shocks, surprises and cold chills.

Carol Ann Crawford is excellent as the strong elder sister whose past reveals vulnerabilities and terrors. Jacqueline Dutoit is hypnotic as dithery, childlike Miriam who shows unexpected resourcefulness in crisis. Lorna McDevitt is also very good as the blackmailer, particularly in a stunning scene when she is manhandled around the stage.

John Durnin's direction is firm, keeping every twist and turn tightly focused. Lighting and sound also have vital roles to play in this cracking piece of entertainment, guaranteed to stretch your nerves almost to breaking point.