THIS play was a real treat – a gripping story line that kept the suspense going right until the closing moments, superb set, props and costumes and fine characterisations from the cast.
The story takes place in late Victorian England, when a couple whose daughter has been missing for three years locate her in a Dublin hospital and bring her home. But is it her home? Are they indeed her parents? And just what does newly-appointed servant Hardy know about the true situation?
Lyn Greene’s direction was beautifully paced, and her cast did her proud. Peter Mimms was totally believable, if slightly forgetful, as Livago, the stranger who upsets everyone’s well-laid plans, and Val Hawkins and Gerry Carroll cleverly conveyed the underlying ruthlessness of the doting parents.
There was a superbly timed comic performance from Katherine Senior as quirky housekeeper Penny, Graham Cozens made a fine debut as the mysterious Hardy and an excellent Penny Coulson brought real pathos and bewilderment to the role of Emma, the young woman for whom the past is a blank.
Perhaps the final plaudits should go to those responsible for props and costumes, because a tremendous amount of effort had plainly gone into getting everything just right – and it showed.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemout Daily Echo