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The story opens at a hotel in Monte Carlo where a rich but crass American woman, Mrs Van Hopper, is staying with her mousey unnamed paid companion. When they encounter the elligible widower Maxim de Winter, who is staying at the same hotel, Mrs de Winter mistakenly assumes he is taken with her but it is in her companion that his interest lies. When Mrs Van Hopper announces she is returning to America, de Winter asks her young companion to remain behind to become his wife.
Once married, Maxim takes his new wife to his ancestral home, a country estate in Cornwall known as Manderley. The new Mrs de Winter is warmly welcomed by the most of the staff except for the dour and aloof housekeeper, Mrs Danvers. The next day she is introduced to Maxim's sister Beatrice, brother-in-law Giles, and estate manager Frank, all of whom have called in for lunch. Over the next few weeks, the shy and unsophisticated new Mrs de Winter has some difficulty settling into her new life, not least because the spectre of Maxim's former wife, Rebecca, who died a year earlier in a boating accident alone on the bay, seems to lurk around every corner. Nor can Mrs Danvers, who worshipped Rebecca, accept the new Mrs de Winter in her stead, and tries to wreck her relationship with Maxim at a disastrous fancy dress ball.
Then, following a storm, Rebecca's body is recovered, calling in to question the events surrounding her death, especially since Maxim had already identified another drowning victim as Rebecca some months earlier. Was Rebecca's death really an accident or was it murder? Can the new Mrs de Winter find the strength to overcome the ghost of Rebecca and hold her marriage and her new life together? Or will the formidable Mrs Danvers drive her away and keep Manderley forever as a shrine to the memory of her former mistress?
All of the action took place on a simplistic unchanging set which consisted of a planked floor in front of a curving backdrop, the lower part mimicking a shingle beach and the upper being a plain screen. To left and right of the stage were double bricked arches puzzlingly reminiscent of a vaulted cellar. For the outdoor scenes, seascapes or clouds were projected onto the screen, whilst for indoor scenes a few simple props were set out on the planked floor. Whilst their is some validity in leaving the imagery largely to the viewers imagination, all in all on this occasion I found the set to be disappointingly inadequate, and expected more from such a high profile production.
The action and dialogue on the other hand were excellently conceived, omitting little from the original story, and containing numerous unexpected touches of humour in the quips between the characters.
Nigel Havers was quite naturally excellent as the sophisticated but somewhat moody Maxim de Winter. Jenna Renshaw gave a sterling performance as the new Mrs de Winter, transforming from a shy and retiring young girl to an assured young woman, able to stand as a rock when her husband needed her most. Rosalind March as Mrs Danvers was every inch the fussily efficient housekeeper but failed to fully convey the malice of her character, coming across as unpleasant rather than menacing. Amanda Waldy was a standout and brought energy to the production in her jolly hocky sticks performance as Maxim's sister Beatrice. Patrick Ryecart was another standout as the deeply acerbic Favell, as was John Nicholas whose aged butler Frith would have fitted in any stately home in the land. Also worthy of mention from the fourteen strong cast was Margaret Robertson as the crass and arrogant Mrs Van Hopper.
A strong story and performances somewhat let down by an inadequate set. A high profile production which failed to fully live up to its billing.