THE Nuffield presents the world premiere of American writer Douglas Post’s gripping and intelligent one-man thriller Bloodshot from Thursday until March 6.

Simon Slater, well known from TV dramas such as Inspector Morse, Monarch of the Glen and Spooks, will have you on the edge of your seat in this terrific thriller, directed by Patrick Sandford.

In 1950s London, a skilled but down on his luck photographer receives a mysterious envelope asking him to take pictures of an elegant young woman as she walks through Holland Park. The reward is handsome, but there is a catch - she must not know she is being photographed… Derek accepts – how could he refuse? Who is this girl? Why does she take a different route each day? And what do an Irish comedian, a Russian conjurer and an American saxophone player have to do with a sudden bloody incident?

This is terrific storytelling in a fantastic setting, with live night club music of the period – saxophone, ukulele and more…plus a little conjuring!

Douglas Post’s previous plays at The Nuffield include Earth and Sky and Murder in Green Meadows. He is resident playwright at the Tony award-winning Victory Gardens theatre in Chicago, and is the author of 25 plays and musicals that have been produced internationally.

The Emmy-award nominated writer told Scene South: “Simon Slater appeared in my play Earth and Sky, which was previously at The Nuffield and we became friends.

“He’s a terrific actor, a wonderful singer who was the lead in the West End production of Mamma Mia for four years and is also a great musician and a bit of a magician as well as being one of the funniest people I know.

“So I was thrilled when he asked me to write a one man play for him. I’d had an idea around a photographer being hired suspiciously and falling in love with a woman through his photographs of her. We both became really intrigued by this idea and have been developing it for four or five years. It’s been a bit of a labour of love.”

• Tickets: 023 8067 1771 or visit nuffieldtheatre.co.uk