THE second of only two ghost stories written by Alan Ayckbourn, this was a tale of violence, abuse and blackmail. Once again he delved into the emotions of the actors to present a dark tale of domestic violence, abuse and blackmail.

It tells the tale of two sisters who have not met for over 30 years coming together after the death of their father and at last revealing secrets they had been hiding for most of their lives. Add to this a sinister nurse and you have all the elements of a cracking good play. Yvonne Maxwell was excellent as Annabel Chester the sister who ran away to Australia when she was young, Julie Roitt gave a fine performance as Alice Moody the woman who nursed the sister’s father before his death, displaying a sinister façade with ease and the supposedly simple sister Miriam superbly played by Colleen Tudway who turned out to be far from simple when the chips were down.

The lighting and effects created by Phil Rapps were brilliant adding to the creepy atmosphere and made me jump out of my seat more than once. The lovely little Thame theatre was just the right setting for a ghost story and Steve Lambell musts be commended for his direction. The innovative garden setting was constructed by Mike Rochford, Doug Taylor and Steve Lambell and dressed by Colleen Tudway.. Even though this was only the second night of the play it was a full house which speaks for itself of the talents and popularity of the Thame Players.