Love From A Stranger - ALtrincham Little Theatre

MARRY in haste, repent at leisure.

That old saying certainly rings true for the hopelessly naive Cecily, who finds herself hopelessly seduced by the silver tongued Bruce Lovell in this captivating and witty play, inspired by a short story by the queen of suspense, Agatha Christie.

Let’s face it, Bruce doesn’t have much in the way of competition when it comes to winning her affections. His only “competition” comes in the shape of the disarmingly decent but dull as dishwater Nigel, who she’s destined to marry.

While the tale has Christie’s fingerprints all over it, it was brought to the stage by Frank Vosper, a new writer to me, who would surely have gone on to achieve great things had he not died far too soon aged just 36.

Garth Jones stepped in late to direct this piece, perfectly suited to ALT’s compact little sage, which provides an ideal backdrop for the encroaching tension, which builds beautifully.

Garth also coaxes some credible and watchable performances from the likes of Sarah Reilly as Cecily and Harry Chalmers-Morris as the darkly debonair Bruce. Then there’s Georgina Dalgliesh to enjoy as the couple’s housemaid, Ethel.

As lovable as Ethel is, she wasn’t even in the building when they were handing out people skills.

If I have a criticism I thought the play was 10 minutes too long, but take it from me, the twist at the end is well worth the wait.

Love From A Stranger is the perfect choice for a theatre of this size and for these long, dark and seemingly endless autumn nights.

Criminally good.

Until November 23, The box office is on 0161 928 1113. Star rating - ****